Horace Mann - Summer 2016 - 19

Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) photo by Jasmin Ortiz WISE explores engineering, robotics, biology and chemistry throughout the year In its first year WISE provided eight different occasions for girls in kindergarten-through-grade five to come to campus to engage in science activities. The program's first June Camp installment was followed by a series of Saturday morning sessions during which girls were invited to HM by age groups, two grades at a time, to learn developmentallyappropriate projects and experiments. Diaz also took advantage of the Lower Division's bi-annual no-classes-parentteacher-conference days, in November and in February, to offer girls the chance to spend a full day at HM doing science and engineering projects. Over the course of the year the various groups learned about electrical circuitry, chromatography, and chemical reactions. In one physics-based construction project they created a cozy, walk-in igloo from recycled plastic bottles. The girls also ventured into robotics, rocketry and engineering technology. The first June Camp, which Diaz titled "Robots, Rube Goldberg, and Wrenches: Four Days of Construction" brought 10 rising fourth and fifth-grade girls to HM to challenge their imaginations, working individually, in pairs or as a group to construct "chaos towers" inspired by Rube Goldberg, an early 20th-century cartoonist who depicted overly-engineered devices that performed simple tasks. The campers made fast friendships with girls from different grades as they teamed up to imagine outlandishly twisting tunnels, or prevent their touch-the-ceiling collections of tubes from crashing to the floor. Disappointing perhaps, despite the laughter that accompanied these sensational tumbles, these mishaps were part of the learning process, Diaz explained, emphasizing, as she does in her science classes, that the experience of advancing a hypothesis, having it fail, and beginning again is essential to all scientific inquiry. On other days the girls engaged in an engineering challenge, creating suspension bridges from such materials as gumdrops, toothpicks, plastic drinking cups and aluminum foil. They also learned circuitry while building small robots. Each girl left camp with an additional robot-building kit to assemble over the summer. "Our goal was not to program the robot, but to do the circuitry. This was a great project for the girls to learn from and then complete another robot at home," Diaz noted. The week also included exercise and fun breaks on the Lower Division playground. "Who wouldn't want to build a robot?" Asked why the girls chose to return to HM for this science experience just after they'd completed a year of classes, Layla responded: "Who wouldn't want to learn to build a robot?" Ariana answered, on behalf of the group, "We all really like Ms. Diaz as a science teacher. She's fun and she does a lot of different experiments. It's easier to do science with just us girls. It's less chaotic and we really get to learn all the steps. All of us here love math and science." She then added, "I also wanted a chance to do construction. When I was little, my brother would always get Legos for a present. This is my chance." For Willa, one bonus of the WISE camp was "having more confidence in science class because we will have had more experience." Another was "becoming friendly with the fourth graders." Bailey was excited about enrolling in June Camp, and in joining WISE activities during the year "from the minute she heard about it," said her mother, Penny Kramer Hecht '94. Bailey's enthusiasm was partially responsible for her sister Ella's wish to sign up for a Saturday morning session for second graders. But, Ella is a science enthusiast on her own, Hecht reported. "Bailey talked about the things she did at June Camp, and Ella wanted to do it, too. They both love science and want to do as much as possible." Bailey spent several days over the summer building the robot from the kit she received at the end of camp, Hecht said. "She's looking forward to robotics classes and getting involved with Lego robotics in the Middle Division next year." Reflecting on her own experience as a student at HM Hecht spoke of being one of only a few girls taking AP Computer Science, but having "plenty of girls in my AP calculus class." Of her daughters, the alumna said they don't think of the WISE initiative as "more school, but as a chance to do something hands on in science. It's just great that they were afforded the opportunity to do science beyond the classroom." Creating suspension bridges was one WISE activity. Horace Mann Magazine Summer 2016 19

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