Media Relations

Bowling Green Conference to Address STEM Opportunities for Kentucky Girls

Date: Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

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The Kentucky Girls STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Collaborative, in partnership with The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University, will hold its fourth annual conference, “Collaboration: The Key to Successful Programming for Girls in STEM,” Friday, October 12, 2012, at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

Educators, counselors, business and community leaders, parents and girls are invited to meet others with a strong desire to see girls discover opportunities available to them within the STEM fields. Conference attendees will explore up-and-coming career opportunities in STEM fields and learn proactive steps to help girls overcome roadblocks to their success in these fields.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Claudia Rawn, University of Tennessee Material Science and Engineering faculty member and senior research and development staff member at Oakridge National Laboratory’s Materials and Technology Division; Brian Mefford, Connected Nation founder and chairperson; and Ron Crouch, director of research and statistics for the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. For the girls attending, the conference will feature young women in STEM fields sharing their strategies for success. 

Exhibitors from prominent Kentucky industries as well as girl-serving organizations and programs will be available to meet with conference attendees. Registration is $25 per person, $10 of which will go toward sponsoring future Kentucky Girls STEM events. Check-in on conference day will begin at 8:30 a.m., and welcome will begin at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided on-site.

The Collaborative, in partnership with WKU’s Ogden College of Science and Engineering and the SKyTeach Program, will also host a “Girls STEM Day” from noon – 3 p.m. in WKU’s Snell Hall. Girls in grades five through eight are invited for an afternoon of hands-on, minds-on exploration into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Female STEM practitioners and educators will lead girls through activities that mirror real-world STEM tasks and highlight creative and innovative problem solving. Participants will also learn how to best prepare themselves to study STEM fields in high school and college. Registration is $5 per student and includes a pizza lunch. Maximum capacity for this day is 150 girls.

Please visit www.kygirlsstem.com/ProgramsEvents/AnnualConference2012.html to register for the conference and “Girls STEM Day.” The Collaborative looks forward to seeing you there!

For Information call 270.745.3014 or email mandy.simpson@wku.edu.