Science summer-camp for girls

Get WISE is a sold-out science camp for girls running in Halifax, NS, on the campus of Mount St. Vincent University. It's part of the Women In Science Education Atlantic initiative, and combines kinetic learning with hands-on exercises as well as more traditional classroom work. The kids really look like they're having a great time, too.

(Thanks, Rachel!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: canada • education • Engineering • gender • halifax • happy mutants • Science • STEM

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http://www.facebook.com/alasdair.maclean Alasdair MacLean

Um, I think you mean ‘Halifax, NS’………Mount Saint Vincent University is in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Natalie Murray

NS, not NC – Nova Scotia. :)
David Fiander

It would be VERY BAD if there was a Mount St Vincent University in the town of Halifax North Carolina. VERY VERY BAD.
senorglory

If this one’s already sold out, anyone know a comparable camp that is taking applicants?
McGauth925

I get it that we want to encourage girls, but…how many camps do we have for boys where girls are excluded?

I can see making a special attempt to recruit girls. I can’t see excluding boys.
- ConcernedScientist
  
  My experience has been that most science camps are de facto boys camps, perhaps due to parental bias regarding science and gender roles (e.g. “Johnny loves science camp, but I don’t think Sarah would.”)
  
  Special programs (single gender programming, subsidized fees for girls, etc…) are simply mechanisms to increase female interest in STEM in hopes of achieving equity. I find it misleading when people equate “pro-girl” programs with “anti-boy” programs. Girls and boys have different educational needs and there are arguments that single-gender programs (in complement with co-ed experiences) can help both genders succeed academically.
  
  In the case of STEM, the need for all-girls programming may simply be more urgent. In Canada, women are tragically underrepresented in technology, engineering, and natural sciences in post-secondary education and in the workforce (I can provide links, if needed, but just look up on StatCan). I think one of the big areas we see parity in science-related fields is in health professions, but if I recall it was in lower-paying positions (lots of female technologists and nurses, not so many doctors).
  
  Food for thought!