Paris Brown and Jessica Mohney, Butler Intermediate High School students, carefully add cards to their tower during an activity at XTO Energy's "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" on Friday.

CRANBERRY TWP — The energy was high in the XTO Energy office Friday morning as girls from Butler Intermediate High School raced to created a tower of playing cards that could support a handful of pennies.

It was part of a hands-on experiment for “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” hosted by XTO Energy at its Warrendale office building.

More than 40 Butler girls in seventh through ninth grade led by teachers Dave Andrews and Breit Cochran gathered to learn about engineering and science careers and participate in two hands-on activities designed to showcase the real-world applications of science, technology, engineering and math.

“This is aimed at interesting and exciting girls about engineering and opportunities in the oil and gas industry,” said Karen Matusic, manager of public and government affairs with XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil.

This is the fifth year the Butler students have taken part in the day celebrating women in engineering and science, Andrews said. The students were chosen from the enrichment studies honors program by their teachers to participate.

There were 37 seventh and eighth graders and seven ninth grade mentors who had participated in the program in the past. Andrews said the girls love the program year after year and do a great job showing off their creative thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills.

To learn more about this program, read Sunday's Butler Eagle.