Boulder – Araceli Martinez spent four days building a shopping mall out of LEGO blocks. But it wasn’t a normal LEGO model – the miniature display contained a moving escalator and elevator, along with lights, fans and music.
She’s one of 30 junior high school girls who recently completed workshops at the IBM facility in Boulder. The company’s annual Exploring Interests in Technology and Engineering Camp aims to interest young girls in science and engineering careers.
“I knew you could do something like this, but I didn’t know how hard it would be,” said Martinez, 13, of the motorized LEGO mall she built with three teammates. “Now I will pay more attention in math and science class.”
Eighteen girls from Heritage Middle School in Longmont and 12 from Angevine Middle School in Lafayette participated in the fifth year of the Boulder program. This is the seventh year IBM has sponsored the camp.
More than 1,500 girls at 48 IBM locations will participate this year, the company says. The program spans the U.S., Canada, Latin America, South Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia.
Women lag men when it comes to choosing careers in math and science. IBM is trying to buck that trend. According to the National Science Foundation, the percentage of bachelor’s degrees in computer science that went to women dropped from 37 percent in 1985 to 28 percent in 2001.
“Research shows that if you can influence young girls at this age to go and utilize math and science and study it as a career, you can turn that trend around,” said Sandra Zoratti, director of marketing and strategy for IBM’s printing systems division and executive sponsor for the camp. “This is the critical time in their life when they’re starting to think about a career.”
In addition to learning how to use a computer program to motorize LEGO blocks, the girls attended workshops about forensic science, immunology and toxicology, and wildlife science.
The goal of the camp is not to prepare women for careers at the company, but to help them develop their interest in math and science, Zoratti said.
“We’re not trying to influence the pipeline; we just want to influence the statistics,” she said. “To us, a success is women (who) would go into any technical field.”
Martinez wants to be a pediatrician when she’s older. Several students said they wished to pursue careers in medicine, computers and biology, according to Zoratti, who notes that all the girls plan to attend college.
In addition to receiving a certificate of recognition from IBM, each of the girls will be paired with an “e-mentor,” a female employee from IBM, to correspond with during the school year.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
