Girl Power! STEM Summer Camp at CRSM

Jul 7, 2022 | Academic

It’s a growing trend: Female participation in STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and computer coding), is becoming increasingly popular as an exciting, interactive path for girls who are eyeing science as a career path at an early age.

Decked out in pink T-shirts, 100 girl’s 3rd through 8th grade, attended the five-day summer camp. This year’s theme, “New Frontiers in Space was run by The Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization (iBIO) and was held at CRSM. The goal: to increase positive feelings for STEM activities, inspire interest in pursuing STEM careers, and seek strong support from their families.

“The idea is to motivate the next generation and help restore America’s leadership in technology education,” said iBIO Senior Vice President Ann Vogel. CRSM Corporate Work Study program partner, Abbott was the lead sponsor for the event. Twenty-five STEM career employees from Abbott, Horizon, and the Steans Family Foundation, along with students and area teachers (some from CRSM!), volunteered to facilitate the week-long camp. CRSM Junior Haylie G. also volunteered, sharing how she had attended the 2019 camp, which inspired her to apply to and now attend CRSM.

“We are excited to bring real-world connections to the girls at this camp, which really sets it apart from other summer activities,” said Ann Vogel. “We are also thrilled to be back in-person at Cristo Rey this summer! Providing the opportunity for girls to learn together and from one another, while experimenting and using the engineering design cycle to creatively solve problems, is a key part of our camp.”

This year’s exploration centered around the habitation of a new planet by humans. For humans to be able to live in this new space, they will need to find ways to meet requirements for survival. Topics included soil chemistry and discovering existing life, engineering challenges involved in securing and transporting water for the new planet, using remote sensing to map the landscape of the planet, and building a paper model of “living” and “research” spaces, and generating electricity from wind.

On Friday, June 24, the final day of camp, iBIO welcomed participants’ families to join them for a Family Day and STEM Careers Event.

Preston Kendall, president of CRSM, said how proud he is that the school can host events like iBIO in our building. “ Doing good for others always pays dividends – it’s not why we do it, but I look at it as confirmation we are doing the right thing for the community. Like the Beatles say, “And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give.

The summer camp was featured in the Lake County Partners newsletter. Read more here.