It may very well be the coolest engineering program in the universe, and it’s specifically for middle-school girls.
Lehigh University’s CHOICES (Charting Horizons and Opportunities In Careers in Engineering and Science) program is designed to spark girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The future STEM careerists (and perhaps Lehigh alumnae?) participate in exciting hands-on engineering and science experiments — with a heavy emphasis on fun.
This year’s one-day program, held on March 31, included 66 middle-school girls from 11 area schools and over 30 college student volunteers. The day kicked off with a balloon activity in which the girls used their resources (balloons, air pump, and tape) to build the tallest tower possible. Working together in their school groups with a Lehigh student serving as group mentor, the girls competed against a team of their teachers.
“Our day was filled with lots of exciting rotating sessions. Each of the girls was able to find a session she enjoyed and a session where she learned something new,” said CHOICES co-chair MacKenzie Lambinus ’24, a chemical engineering major. “It’s important to host days like this to promote STEM to young women because they are able to see new paths that haven’t historically been shown to girls this age.”
“It’s important to host days like this to promote STEM to young women because they are able to see new paths that haven’t historically been shown to girls this age.”
The day featured nine different sessions:
Augmented Reality, hosted by Lehigh's NHI (Nano/Human Interface) Visualization Lab, introduced students to holographic images and augmented reality apps with a STEM focus, using the Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset.
Learning How to 3D Print Underwater from a Mussel, hosted by bioengineering, showed students how mussels make strong, sticky fibers to glue themselves to rocks underwater. The girls then tried their hand at making an underwater fiber themselves by copying the underwater 3D printing tricks of mussels.
Hot Air Balloons, hosted by the LU Society of Women Engineers, gave students a chance to work in teams to create hot air balloons, then compete to get them off the ground first.
Running the ER, hosted by industrial systems and engineering, demonstrated the challenges of coordinating emergency room operations at a busy hospital, with students learning problem-solving skills by acting as members of clinical and operations staff or patients.
Make it Move, hosted by engineering firm Bosch Rexroth, saw the girls experimenting with hydraulic power to move heavy objects — including a challenge to lift a brick, or even two, with one finger.
Water School Imprint, hosted by civil and environmental engineering, demonstrated the importance of planning and organizing to provide fresh water to institutions like schools. Girls had pre-session homework to determine their schools’ consumption and explored options for conserving water in the workshop.
The Robot Game: Relay Races, Bowling and More!, hosted by Lehigh computer science and engineering, had students working with mini robots called Spheros to compete in teams in various challenge activities.
Earthquake Resonance in Structure, hosted by Lehigh’s ATLSS (Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems) Center, challenged girls to find ways to mitigate the resonance response of an “earthquake” (shaking table) on K’nex towers they built.
AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) Rotation Labs, hosted by chemical and biomolecular engineering, used hands-on experiments to demonstrate surface tension-driven flow, mixing fluids by making Oobleck (a mixture of cornstarch and water), using a hand-held centrifuge for separation, and observing cosmetics under a digital microscope.
For middle-school girls who want even more science and engineering exploration, registration is now open for two sessions of a weeklong CHOICES program summer camp.
“During these camps, the students participate in a wide variety of activities and labs led by our engineering faculty and local women professionals,” said Chayah Wilbers, program manager for Lehigh’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Science. “The girls enjoy making new friends, trying new foods (during lunches at Lehigh and from various Southside Bethlehem restaurants), and finding out about career paths during our Women in Engineering Q&A panel.”