Byline: JENNIFER PATTERSON Staff Writer
SCHENECTADY - Young women from around the Capital Region got a hands-on opportunity to explore science and technology on Tuesday during General Electric's Girls and Women in Technology Day.
Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region participated in the four-hour interactive session, with women scientists and engineers from the General Electric Women's Network.
The network is a volunteer organization that fosters women's professional development and growth, aiming to place more women in key leadership roles within the company.
'General Electric Technology Day is part of a broader partnership between the company' and Girls Inc., said Chris Horne, General Electric Energy spokesman. 'Women and minorities are still underrepresented in technology fields today. Our event is meant to generate interest in math and science among young girls and hopefully, we can positively impact technological fields in the future.'
The event is one of many network programs designed to drive young women's exposure to science and spark an early interest in technical fields. It's part of General Electric's two-year sponsorship of Girls Inc.'s Operation SMART - Science, Math and Relevant Technology - program.
'Operation SMART gives girls the chance to get dirty and removes the yuck factor associated with science,' said Jennifer Amstutz, a GE vice president for program development.
The event was open to girls ages 9-12 from Girls Incorporated's Albany and Schenectady facilities. A total of 62 girls participated in numerous lessons, including a polymer chemistry class that produced slime by combining liquids to make a solid; a 'passport to technology' class where students matched computer parts, played computer games and completed a technology word jumble; and an environmental health and safety class that produced ice cream from liquid nitrogen.
'Women from the network use creative, hands-on teaching tools and in the process, the girls have fun and forget that they're learning,' Horne said.
Girls Inc. is part of a national organization that provides educational opportunities to young women across the country, especially in the inner cities.
On Thursday, GE scientists and technologists from GE's Global Research Center in Niskayuna hosted nearly 300 fourth-grade students as part of Science Day.
Jennifer Patterson can be reached at 454-5340 or by e-mail at jpatterson@timesunion.com.
