Photos and story by Theresa-Marie Wilson
Almost every kid loves ice cream, but most of them don’t want to take the time to make it themselves.
That’s where liquid nitrogen comes in handy. Two Cal Poly engineering professors wearing safety glasses and protective gloves enveloped in a smoke-like cloud created the sweet treat within minutes and earned a lot of “Oohs” and “Awws” from eager children. The science spin on making ice cream was a fitting way to wrap up the second annual Science Camp for Girls held at Central Coast Salmon Enhancement in Arroyo Grande.
The five-day camp is designed to show young girls examples of the diversity in the field of science with the hopes of inspiring more females to pursue careers in what has been a male dominated arena.
“We aren’t seeing a lot of women going into the science, technology, math or computer science fields,” said camp co-founder Tosha Punches. “We want to start them now, get them exposed early, get them excited and comfortable and help them gain some self-confidence. I think it is important for them to see the women mentors that we bring in every single day that are in those fields. We want the girls to see that so they can relate.”
The science camp engaged the girls in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) education. The group of 19 elementary and middle school students explored electronics, DNA, rocketry, biology and industrial and materials engineering under the mentorship of women who are experts in the individual fields.
Among other activities, the budding scientists built rockets and sent them into the sky, made LED bracelets, discovered macro invertebrates in the Arroyo Grande Creek, fixed electronic devises and even designed a structurally sound castle of sorts using spaghetti and marshmallows.
“I really enjoy science,” said Emily Sullivan, 11, from San Luis Obispo. “My favorites are science and engineering. The rockets we did were stomp-rockets and that was incredibly fun. We brought in one that my dad and I had made and it went like 500 feet away and 200 feet high. We had to pump it with a bicycle tire pup.
Th
e ones we made here were with a bottle, a piece of bicycle inner tube tire and a piece of PVC. It flew pretty well.”
Sullivan wants to work at Google in Venice Beach, “because I am really into programming, or a biochemist.”
Punches and Deborah Love, both of who are former staff members of the Exploration Station, started the camp in 2014. During a temporary closure of the organization, the camp was moved to Central Coast Salmon Enhancement—a non-profit dedicated to strengthening and protecting local watersheds and fisheries.
Only in its second year, the camp has some pretty significant supporters on board including Cal Poly professors and the university’s VISTA program as well as the STEAM Trunk Initiative.
