Article written by Daniel Najera. Najera is a second-year graduate student in Professor Alison Fout's research group. He was elected to the board of the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) to serve as one of two coordinators for the 2019 Bonding with Chemistry Day Camp for Girls.
On June 29 and July 13, more than 100 local middle school girls attended the 11th annual Bonding with Chemistry Day Camp for Girls, organized by the Women Chemists Committee.
The purpose of the day camp is to expose middle school girls to chemistry and sciences in the laboratory and in everyday life. Campers participate in rotating stations to gain hands-on laboratory experiences and engage with chemistry in ways that are often inaccessible in the classroom.
Led by current graduate students and faculty, the event is all about active learning in chemistry, in an attempt to encourage girls entering 6th-8th grades to become excited about chemistry.
This year, volunteer graduate student designed stations that included topics on surface tension, acids and bases, the chemistry of batteries, biological chemistry, and light sources. By engaging in activities such as extracting strawberry DNA, making lemon batteries, and designing their own circuits, campers are taught how to make scientific observations and follow experimental procedures.
The Bonding with Chemistry Day Camp for Girls is one of the many events hosted by the Women Chemists Committee to promote the development of women in the chemical sciences.
For more information, please visit:
https://chemistry.illinois.edu/resources/women-chemistry/women-chemists-committee