For this publication, the Office of Local Section Activities is highlighting the Sixth Girls in Science Event that was held at the Eastern Oregon University (EOU) and sponsored in part by the Richland Local Section Committee for Women and Minority Affairs. This successful event for middle-school girls is a clear example of how collaboration with several groups can expand your volunteer pool and the number of participants.

“What is making people sick?” That was the challenging question to solve for middle-school girls who attended the sixth Girls in Science Day at EOU in La Grande, OR, on October 27, 2007. The event was organized by more than 70 volunteers, including EOU faculty, staff, and students and members of other organizations. The event was supported in part by the ACS Richland Local Section Committee for Women and Minority Affairs with a donation of $500 and with participation from ACS students and faculty members. Girls as far as the Tri-Cities and many small communities in North and Central Oregon attended the science day.

Sixth Girls in Science Event at the Eastern Oregon University

Crafted after the popular TV show House, the interdisciplinary curriculum developed by a team composed of anthropology, computer technology, biology, and chemistry experts engaged the girls in finding out what was making inhabitants of a house sick. Working in small teams, the young investigators, equipped with masks and booties, first collected specimens from a fictitious house, and then conducted several experiments to find out possible presence of bacteria or molds or presence of toxic chemicals such as nitrite in water or lead in paint. Math activities and graphing along with computer simulations were also part of the day.

The day concluded with each team reporting their diagnosis to “Dr. House.” The event was met with great enthusiasm by all participants and was overall a great success. More pictures will be shortly available on the Richland Local Section website.

For more information on this event, contact Dr. Anna G. Cavinato, Professor of Chemistry, Eastern Oregon University.


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