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BY HANNAH PURKEY

In print | February 14, 2008

The Expanding Your Horizons Network is currently planning its next conference for March 29 to help get middle school girls interested in math and science. The annual conference, started in 2005, is part of the national Expanding Your Horizons Network, which focuses on providing middle and high school girls with role models and hands on experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to the program’s Web site.

“I don’t know if I ever thought that going into math and science was not available for me, but it is a valid concern,” said Taylor Rhodes ‘09, a member of the EYH Network. "It’s great that programs like [EYH] can change the norms that people perceive; that’s the aim of the program."

The conference is held every spring on campus, and draw middle school students from all over. Students come from the Philadelphia area but also from New Jersey and Delaware, according to Patricia Kelly ‘09, EYH member and organizer of this year’s conference. Although initially schools heard about the conference mainly through word of mouth, EYH has tried to expand the types of students it draws in. “We’ve expanded and tried to cover a wider variety of socioeconomic statuses and racial diversity as well, to distribute opportunities to all girls better,” Kelly said.

The girls that come to the conference have a variety of backgrounds in the sciences. “We get everything from girls from the Chester school district who don’t have a very strong science background to girls from the nearby private schools which have strong science programs,” said Ginger Indivero, a chemistry lab instructor at Swarthmore who has run workshops at the conference for the past two years.

The conference is an all day event, beginning with registration at 8:30 a.m. and ending around 3:30 p.m., according to Kelly. The girls attend four different workshops throughout the day, each 30 to 45 minutes long. These workshops are run by a variety of women who are part of the scientific community, including Swarthmore and Tri-Co professors as well as professionals in scientific fields from nearby areas, according to Kelly. The workshops cover a variety of topics, from chemistry and biology to economics and math.

“I run a workshop called Chemistry is Colorful,” Indivero said. She said she has featured this workshop for the past two years and plans on offering it at this year’s conference as well. “We make red cabbage indicator to show the girls that even household items can be chemicals.” The workshop shows girls the changing colors that occur when the red cabbage indicator is added to regular household items like vinegar or lemon-lime soda. The girls also take Kool-Aid or black frosting and separate the different colors contained in them. “They like the idea of the hands on part, doing the experiment and seeing things change,” Indivero said. “It makes them feel like they are real scientists using real scientific equipment.”

Along with the four workshops, students participate in a discussion of gender and the role of women in the sciences. “In the gender discussion the girls learn about the role of gender in education and the gender roles perpetuated through time that are just now being broken,” Kelly said. The discussion provides an open environment for the girls to discuss any issues that they have been having in their classes or with their teachers. “If they felt discouraged about any of their classes or if there was something that they wanted to talk about, they could in the discussion,” Kelly said.

The gender discussion is just another part of the conference that attempts to support these girls by helping to fill in the gaps in their science educations. “The conference emphasizes things that don’t get emphasized in school,” said Nicole Belanger ’08, who originally brought a section of the EYH Network to Swarthmore after she attended a similar conference when she was in middle school.

“It allows the girls to see how science helps people, real world applications of science. We show them the part of science that is more fun, different things they wouldn’t have seen,” she said.

The students and parents of the students appreciate the chance to experience science in a new way. Professor of Economics Amanda Bayer not only has volunteered as a workshop leader but also has brought her own children to participate in the conference.

“had a lot in common with the other girls, school and sports, but they don’t usually talk about math together,” Bayer said. “So this gave them an opportunity to do something and participate in something that society doesn’t often encourage them to talk about.”

At this year’s conference, EYH will be expanding on their program for parents and teachers, according to Belanger. While the students participate in discussions and workshops, parents also have a chance to see what their kids are learning and how they can best support their daughters.

“The program gives parents ideas of how to support the girls in math and science over a long time,” Belanger said. “The conference is one day, so we want to give parents the tools to give their daughters the encouragement and push for the rest of the time.”

Committee members recognize the improvements that have been made to the program. “It has grown a lot and come a long way since when it started,” planning committee member Lauren Irizarry ’08 said. “It has been going more and more smoothly ever year.” Members hope that this growth will continue in the future.

“My hope is that the program will go on for many years, making a difference and becoming an integral part of the Swarthmore community,” Kelly said. “It keeps getting better and better, and I hope to see that continue.”

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