Press Release
July 20, 2009
For more information:
Todd Scott
Himmelrich PR
410.528.5400
todd@himmelrich.com
Victoria Streitfeld
Honeywell
973-455-5281
victoria.streitfeld@honeywell.com
Forty Years after the First Lunar Landing
Baltimore Middle School Girls Embark on Their Own Mission –
An Exciting Week-Long Summer Science Camp
Maryland Science Center and Honeywell Partner for the Third Year to Offer Honeywell SciGirls at MSC; an Innovative Summer Camp Designed to Promote Science and Build Relationships
Forty years after the first lunar landing, more than 60 Baltimore-area middle school girls are embarking on an exploration of a lifetime. Their journey begins this week at Honeywell SciGirls Camp at the Maryland Science Center (MSC), where the young women will explore flight, engineering, the human body and nature by launching rockets, designing earthquake proof houses, analyzing blood and exploring the Chesapeake Bay’s watershed.
For the third consecutive year, the Maryland Science Center and Honeywell are partnering to host an exciting science summer camp that will offer the students an unprecedented opportunity to see how science and engineering really work. Due to overwhelming demand, the camp is again offering two, week-long sessions. By the end of July, nearly 200 Baltimore-area girls will be SciGirls.
“The SciGirls program is having an impact,” said Maryland Science Center President and CEO Van Reiner. “We are encouraging girls to embrace their interest in science and helping them to envision their future as explorers, scientists, doctors, researchers, and women who can change the world.”
“Honeywell SciGirls Camp at MSC challenges young women so they creatively use their minds and imaginations to discover the next frontier,” said Tom Buckmaster, President of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. “We’re proud to partner with the Maryland Science Center to bring this terrific program to Baltimore.”
The students, who have been recommended by their school guidance counselors and community leaders, will meet some of the country’s top women scientists and engineers, including Shubha Barriga, a Honeywell aerospace engineer and project manager for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
To remain a world leader in the knowledge-based economy, the United States must produce a steady flow of engineers, mathematicians and scientists. Yet, according to the National Centerfor Education Statistics, about one-fifth of 4th graders and one-third of 8th graders lacked the competence to perform even basic mathematic computations. Declining interest in math and science is most acute among middle school girls who often choose other disciplines as they enter high school, experts say.
SciGirls will help address these trends by stimulating young women’s intellectual curiosity and providing them with real world problem-based learning. The program created by – and taught by – Baltimore area women in science professions, promises to be engaging, hands-on, challenging and, of course, fun! Honeywell underwrites costs for 37 camp participants from 23 Baltimore City and county schools.
Honeywell SciGirls Camp at MSC will run from July 20 – 24 and July 27 – 31, with full-day sessions from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. After completing the camp, the girls will meet once a month at the Science Center to continue their learning. Last year's SciGirls will participate in
SciGirls II, an advanced version of the camp, which occurs five individual sessions throughout the year. This year's class will complete the program in June 2010 and be eligible for SciGirls II next year.
Honeywell SciGirls Camp at MSC participants will undertake creative and challenging science experiments in the fields of:
- Space science – students will learn about engineering, design and flight by building and launching rockets. They will also design their own rocket “protection system,” or thermal heat shield, and create electric game-circuit mazes.
- Earth science – watershed exploration, surface temperature measurements and designing green roofs for homes and buildings will teach camp participants about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the impact of humans on our environment. The students will interact with Bay animals and plants to gain an understanding of invasive species and environmental stewardship through hands-on exposure.
- Biological science – a series of experiments at MSC’s wetlab that focuses on health, nutrition, and disease, while providing students with an understanding of the role science plays in their lives. Students will analyze blood and conduct experiments gauging the migration of electrically charged particles in a solution.
The program is designed to outline career paths for each of the scientific fields. Lunch hours will provide opportunities for participants to meet with female scientists to share learning. On the second to last day of Honeywell SciGirls Camp at MSC, students will visit area science laboratories to see scientists in action.
About the Maryland Science Center:
The Maryland Science Center at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is visited by more than 550,000 people each year. Popular exhibits include: Dinosaur Mysteries which features more than a dozen full-size dinosaurs and interactive paleontology activities, an exploration of the day in the life of the human body in Your Body: The Inside Story, and dozens of interactive experiments in Newton’s Alley. Other popular attractions in the museum include the Kids Room, the five-story St. John Properties IMAX Theater, and the world-famous Davis Planetarium.
About Honeywell:
Honeywell International is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.