The Sixth Annual AAUW-Girl Scout Science and Engineering Fair will be held at the Elks Lodge in Bend January 24 from 9 am – 3 pm. Girl Scouts will experience an overview of life as an engineer and then explore hands-on science and engineering procedures using detective skills in activities requiring observation, communication in code, fingerprinting, studying evidence and following clues. Guest speaker Kecia Weaver of the Bend Police Department for sixteen years is a patrol officer and has been a field training officer, school resource officer and a crisis negotiator. She also served five years in the state of Washington as a patrol officer. She opens the day describing why she chose this career and what skills are needed to be an officer. This sets the stage for each girl to use their own math and engineering skills in different stations led by AAUW members. By the end of the day, girls earn the Detective & Society of Women Engineers badges.
Stations are led by Bend AAUW members who are all college educated, several retired educators, and Wendy Colby, PhD., a retired molecular biologist. Dr. Colby, always ready to share her joy of science and math with girls, is AAUW’s STEM coordinator, seeking appropriate ways for women and girls to advance interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls—all girls—where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.
Girls develop qualities that serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience and conviction about their own potential and self-worth. Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts’ membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia, to 3.4 million members throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and in more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) empowers women and girls through advocacy, education philanthropy, and research. Our non-partisan, nonprofit organization has more than 165,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and 800 college and university partners. Since AAUW’s founding in 1881, our members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day – educational, social, economic, and political.
