XTO Energy hosts event for girls and engineering
A hands-on event to encourage girls to pick a career path in the sciences attracted 40 seventh and eighth grade students from Butler Intermediate High School.
XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, hosted the event Tuesday titled Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at its office in Warrendale to encourage the girls to enter the typically male-dominated STEM fields.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The day began with talks from division geologist Tom Metarko and operations engineer Meredith Gustafsson about the benefits of studying science and engineering.
“My dad always told me you could do anything with an engineering degree,” Gustafsson said. “Even if you don't end up going into that field. ”
Students with engineering degrees learn problem-solving skills and academic discipline. They can often go to graduate schools or find jobs in other industries.
“You can always go less technical,” she said. “But you can't go from a liberal arts degree to engineering.”
Gustafsson said demand for STEM degrees is expected to continue to increase in the future, and she wants girls to take advantage of the opportunity.
“I think it's awesome to get girls in at this age,” she said. “We're in a male-dominated industry. I think it really is more challenging (for girls). Expectations are higher, but if you can prove you can cut it, you can basically write your own ticket.”
Most of the event was spent on activities where students could put their problem-solving skills to use, building tools to accomplish tasks the XTO staff gave them.
The first task was to build a catapult from Styrofoam, Popsicle sticks, tape, paper and rubber bands. The team that scored the most points by hitting a target won.
Ninth-grade mentors helped the teams plan and construct their machines as each group scrambled to finish before time ran out.
“The mentors are experienced ninth-graders who've been at the event for two years,” said Dave Andrews, science teacher at Butler Intermediate High School.
The students at the event were nominated to attend by their teachers in the enrichment studies program, which the school offers to students with exceptional grades, he said.
Students in the program can apply for special courses which, at the moment, are ungraded.
Breit Cochran, social studies teacher at the school, also accompanied the students on the trip.
After lunch, the students tackled their second project: the marble roller coaster.
Students were given tape and envelope paper to build a “roller coaster” to guide a marble down to a red cup on the floor.
Teams scored higher the longer the marble stayed in the “roller coaster” with three seconds added to the score if the marble made it into the cup.
Students crafted the paper into everything from ramps and stairs to tunnels and funnels, taping their creations onto the wall in the permitted areas.
The whole room gathered as each apparatus was put through its final test, meeting cheers at the plunking sound of a successful delivery or applause at a good, albeit unsuccessful effort.
Several students said that they enjoyed the event and some indicated that they were planning on pursuing an education in STEM.
“We did the same thing in seventh grade, and this time it was way better,” said Alexia Meckling.
“It's a good program,” said Paige Williams. “It was very competitive.”
