Grosse Pointe Academy eighth grade girls attended a girls-only science and math exploration symposium at Detroit Country Day School on Wednesday, April 3. Sponsored by the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Detroit Country Day and Ford Motor Company, the event was attended by over 900 girls from 22 area schools. During the course of the morning and early afternoon, attendees had the opportunity to sign up for three workshops, the purpose of which was to expose them to a broad range of career opportunities for women.

A favorite workshop of several of the Academy girls focused on a product many of us take for granted: plastic. According to Alice Flood, Libby Krueger, Keegin Fisher, Emily Spica and Maddie Miriani, all of whom attended this workshop, the purpose was to show how much plastics are incorporated into everyday life. They conducted experiments with plastic, saw a shirt made out of water bottles, learned how plastics can be recycled for environmental purposes, and listened to a representative from Daimler-Chrysler who talked about the use of plastic for auto parts.

The workshops opened the girls' eyes to how many careers are available to them, from engineering to opthalmology to veterinary science to marine biology. Rachel Ochylski and Maddie Miriani participated in a mock trial in a workshop on the environment and the law. Emily Skau and Mia Jefferson learned what it would be like to adapt to life without a limb in a workshop on orthopedics and prosthetics. Julia Rose O'Hara and Sarah Whitaker built a bridge on the computer, competing to see who could successfully get a truck across the bridge for the least amount of money. In "Lasers and Lenses," Taylor Bell learned how algebra is involved in creating prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses. Allie Fowler, Libby Krueger and Alice Flood learned about veterinary medicine for exotic animals. Other workshops with titles like "Astronomy: The Real Cosmo Girl," "Space Invaders" and "Inside the Computer Behind the Blue Screen" taught about how astronomy and astrology differ, how plants and animals were transported to the United States from other countries, and how to take PCs apart and identify the different parts.

The workshops offered the girls an inside look at and hands-on approach to many exciting careers available to women, all of which incorporate many of the skills they are learning today in their math and science classes. For example, from biology class with Mr. Fultz, Rachel Ochylski was able to successfully identify many of the fish in a workshop on "Bugs and Thugs of the Great Lakes." The students took quizzes, participated in competitions, conducted experiments and participated in mock surveys and trials. At the end of the day, they compared notes, discussing their favorite workshops and which they liked the least. Perhaps the most important lesson they learned was how many practical applications there are to math and science and how their knowledge of these subject areas will allow them to successfully compete in a variety of careers. This is a lesson that would make their math and science teachers, Wendy Jewett and Michelle Roberts, who accompanied the girls to the symposium, very proud.