WARRENDALE — Nearly 30 girls from Butler Junior High School spent Wednesday imagining, creating and tinkering while learning about engineering careers as part of the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” program at XTO Energy’s office.

The program, supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation, is part of DiscoverE’s “Girl Day” initiative.

DiscoverE, formerly National Engineers Week Foundation,is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering work force.

According to a company news release, the girls participated in hands-on activities that provided a personal connection to the unique applications of science, technology, engineering and math and how these disciplines touch everyday life.

Through first-hand accounts, XTO Energy employees shared the creative and collaborative aspects of engineering, as well as the many significant and life-saving innovations developed by engineers.

Employees served as on-site mentors, leading experiments including Popsicle Stick Bridge and A View From the Top.

“Reaching students at this stage of their education is critical, because the math and science coursework they choose to pursue can help determine the careers available to them,” said Amy Dobkin, community relations manager for XTO Energy, said in the release.

“We want to demonstrate to girls that engineering careers offer the opportunity to make a difference in society. Whether creating advanced technologies or developing new medicines, engineers change the world every day.”

The program is part of an effort to produce a work force that is literate in science, technology, engineering and math, also known by the acronym STEM.

According to a 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, STEM jobs have grown three times the rate of nonSTEM jobs in the past decade.

Yet, according to the 2013 ACT College Readiness Report, only 44 percent of high-school graduates were ready for college-level math, and only 36 percent were prepared for post-secondary science courses.

The ExxonMobil Foundation’s “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” program seeks to promote the profession, as well as the need for women to pursue careers in the field.