Model programs for women and girls: Mini-camps for female secondary students

Demographic trends project that by the year 2000, females will comprise the largest group of those entering the work force. It is important to the Nation´s economic interests that our future leaders be adequately prepared to assume jobs that will become increasingly technological and process oriented. Science education literature indicates two particularly sensitive needs to prepare for the level of scientific literacy requisite by this changing job market: the inclusion of a diverse population within the scope of science education to reflect the demographic transition in the U.S., and the development of hands-on, field-based, “real science” in our education programs. The Marine and Aquatic Mini-Camp for Female Secondary Students is a series of two-day, field-based and inquiry-focused educational experiences designed to modify an existing, successful program at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory to meet the specific needs of a population of secondary, female students. The principal investigators believe that this effort is contributing to a realistic change in the academic and professional ambitions of participating students