During the week of July 11-15, 19 middle school age girls participated in the E-Mazing! electrical engineering camp at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Over the course of the week they learned engineering concepts and worked on projects that demonstrated their skill and creativity.
"We started this because girls start to lose interest in math and science in middle school," said Shay Peterson, camp director. "We don't know why, but we do know that camps like this keep them in it."
The girls started the week with the basics. They learned how light mixes to make different colors, stripped and soldered wires and discovered how circuits work. These techniques were put into practice when each girl was tasked with creating a solar powered light-up hat.
"The girls had to hook batteries up to the solar panels," Peterson said. "Then they had to wire the panels, the batteries, the LED lights and the switch."
ADVERTISEMENT
The week culminated with a maze project. Each girl designed a maze that a ball travels through in order to complete a circuit. On top of electrical engineering skills, this project required knowledge of physics concepts such as magnetism and trajectory. Each girl's maze was unique, from wiring the different components to decorating the outside.
"The theme of my maze was underwater, but I made it into a boat," said 13-year-old Saleha Ali. "I've actually been at this camp for three years and two years ago we did civil engineering, which is kind of like construction."
While the girls learn a lot, Peterson doesn't consider E-Mazing! an educational camp. The goal is not purely to teach science-oriented girls about electrical engineering and physics, but rather to show the fun side of science and to keep all girls interested in it.
"The girls learn tons of theories, but also they now know that this is fun stuff," Peterson said. "When you first look at a circuit board it seems really scary, but now if I ask them what colors of light you mix to make purple, they know."
