NASA, Challenger Center Host Girl Scouts At Learning Event

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Sep 19, 2012, 03:42 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two female engineers will share their career experiences with 18 Maryland Girl Scouts in grades 5 through 8 during an interactive learning event sponsored by NASA's Giving Initiative and Relevance to Learning Science (NASA GIRLS) Program Sept. 22.

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The two-hour event at the Challenger Learning Center at Howard B. Owens Science Center in Lanham, Md., will feature a virtual question-and-answer session with an engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and hands-on activities led by an engineer who trains astronauts at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The hands-on activities will include chemistry demonstrations and life sciences studies with fish and reptiles.

"NASA GIRLS aims to expose young girls to STEM careers through hands on learning and interactions with our own work force," said NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Rebecca Keiser. "Allowing the girls to participate as a group encourages teamwork and allows us to amplify our reach. We are excited to be able to partner with Challenger Center to offer such a program to these young girls."

Lance Bush, president and CEO of Challenger Center, said the event is intended to strengthen the girls' knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. "We're thrilled to welcome the Girl Scouts. Engaging students these types of activities is the foundation of our Challenger Center mission," said Bush. "We look forward to our continued partnership with NASA and working together to provide students with more hands-on learning opportunities."

NASA GIRLS uses commercially available technology to mentor young girls in STEM subjects and inspire them to learn how science and engineering can help them make the world a better place. NASA GIRLS debuted earlier this summer as a one-one-mentoring program, pairing up NASA female mentors and middle school girls nationwide using online video programs such as Skype and Google Chat. To learn more about the program, visit:

http://women.nasa.gov/nasagirls

Challenger Center for Space Science Education was founded in 1986 to honor the seven astronauts of space shuttle mission STS 51-L. Through 45 Challenger Learning Centers around the world, the organization fosters long term interest in STEM subjects, inspires students to pursue studies and careers in these fields, and raises students' expectations of success. For more information, visit:

http://www.challenger.org

NASA GIRLS is a project of Women@NASA, a joint effort by the agency and the White House Council on Women and Girls to relate STEM fields to young females. For more information on the project, visit:

http://women.nasa.gov

and

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cwg

SOURCE NASA