School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science holds engineering camps for girls
09/25/2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) hosted two back-to-back camps over the summer to introduce girls to technical topics and careers in electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science, and to foster their interest so that they seriously consider pursuing high school classes and college degrees in these areas. More than 35 middle school girls attended the camps, which were taught by School of EECS professors and graduate students.
The first camp, called Girls Coding the Future with Robots, was held July 16-20, and introduced attendees to coding through the use of robots – both virtual and physical. Camp participants learned the fundamentals of computer programming and software design, and solved a variety of robot challenges by designing and developing programs that enabled their robots to solve tasks by performing a complex series of actions. The interactive nature of working with robots provided an engaging setting that encouraged experimentation and exploration, and fostered excitement about programming. View the camp video.
The second camp, called Anything is POssible for Girls in Electrical Engineering (APOGEE), was held July 23-27, and showed participants the electronics and signals that surround us every day. Attendees completed several hands-on projects that were focused around the theme of wearable technology. View the camp video.
In addition to experiencing the technical aspects of computer science and engineering and electrical engineering, participants learned about the industries and organizations that hire electrical engineers, computer engineers and computer scientists, and heard directly from successful women professionals who are in such careers. Campers also toured fabrication facilities, various labs, maker spaces and start-up incubators to provide a complete picture of how technologies are created and brought to reality. Each camp culminated in a showcase of the projects completed by the campers.
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Participants in the Girls Coding the Future with Robots camp
Tim Kane, professor of electrical engineering (right), and a participant in the APOGEE camp
