How many gumdrop domes can you make over the course of an hour? Well, it depends on how many small but agile hands there are. At the Science Carnival, the kickoff event at the Cambridge Science Festival on April 21st, over 200 children (and a few adults) thronged our tables, getting their hands dirty exploring oobleck, building gumdrop domes, and investigating color and ink through chromatography. They also helped our collaborator Ken Fan build an origami tower, and explored polarized light and genetic traits with our partners in the Association for Women in Science.

It was an absolutely thrilling event for all. We salute the MIT Museum and the organizers of the event in making science accessible to the community.

Catch us again on September 29th as we help the MIT Museum celebrate its re-opening! We look forward to many more aha moments!

(ED's note: We piloted a series of field trips for our high school participants so they can see science in action, and to sit down with female scientists to learn about their career path).

• My favorite field trip was the Broad Institute I liked working in the lab and meeting people who had different career choices in college then switched to biology.
• I really liked the Museum of Science. It was really fun...I can go there a lot and still see things I haven't seen.
• I didn't know anything about being a patent lawyer so it was nice to learn about being a lawyer, and doing something related to science. (Visit to Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner).
• My favorite field trip was [the Community Lab at] Biogen Idec because I really liked that [immunology] experiment and going through all the steps and then talking to the scientists.
• I had a great time [at the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant], because I learned so many things I never knew about. Also there wasn't a field trip that I didn't like. I enjoyed them all.

We thank all our partners at the above institutions and at Mt. Auburn hospital, for making this pilot program a resounding success! We especially are grateful to the women who took time to speak to the girls about their careers. You really opened the eyes and minds of our participants!

"I used to say how much women needed exact science; now I'm even more convinced how much science needs women." -Maria Mitchell (Astronomer, 1818-1889)

Bring a friend-young, old, male, female--to this solo performance and see how many of the women scientists mentioned you recognize. Yes, we've come a long way. Yet, it's always good to be reminded of the often ludicrous barriers that female scientists over time has had to overcome. This is definitely NOT a depressing lecture, however!

Instead, Dr. Jane Curry will tell the stories of historical and contemporary women scientists and inventors with humor and fanfare. A few non-exploding demonstrations are included!

Proceeds benefit the work of Science Club for Girls.

We are pleased to welcome Kareen Wilkinson on board as the new Program Manager! Kareen was formerly with City Year in Boston. Kareen spent 4 years running the Young Heroes Program, where she managed 11 corps members and 150 young people each year as Program Manager. Her team was recognized as the best Young Heroes Program in the nation by City Year in 2006-07 at its national convention.

We are also delighted that Brianne Studer has joined us as Assistant Program Manager. A graduate of the Environmental Science program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Brianne has considerable expertise in volunteer management and community building in urban areas through her position as Director of the Detroit Project. Brianne increases the number of full- time staff at SCFG by 50%!

We also welcome Stephanie Lemnios as our Newton Site Coordinator. She will be working closely with the Steering Committee at Myrtle Baptist Church, to outreach to surrounding communities in order to increase our weekend enrollment at that site. Again, we thank the Myrtle Steering Committee members for their dedication, wisdom and time!

We are sad that Mairead McSweeney-Shutt, former Program Manager, decided to return to the northwest this summer. Mairead built wonderful relationships with the girls, volunteers, staff, and parents. She also expertly managed the operations of our ever-growing sites, as well as our new partnerships through the extended learning time initiative. We wish Mairead the best in her new role as Develoment Coordinator for the Trust for Public Land. They're lucky to have her!

Become part of the SCFG family!
We will continue the field trips in the academic year program, so do let us know if you would be willing to host a group of 10-12 girls for 1.5-2 hours at your institution.
For information about being a volunteer, click here. Or click to apply.
To enroll your daughter, send us an email. Please note we only serve a limited geographic area.
It's easy to make a recurring donation online.

Thank you for your continued support! Enjoy the rest of the summer. We look forward to seeing our volunteers, girls, parents and partners in the fall!

Sincerely,