Restek and Girl Scouts Team Up to Promote STEM

Photo Credit: De Space Studio/Shutterstock.com

Restek (Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA) has partnered with the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania (GSHPA) to host three STEM expos with the aim of building basic science skills in girls.

Organized by the GSHPA, the events will be attended by more than 1500 Girl Scouts of a variety of ages and will feature dozens of activities provided by programme partners to bring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skill-building opportunities directly to girls.

Two of the STEM expos have already taken place in East Stroudsburg University and Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, with a third planned to take place at Millersville University on 19 May 2018.

Restek brought along two demonstrations, one in which the girls created a miniature lava lamp by adding Alka‑Seltzer to a 40 mL vial containing a mixture of coloured water and mineral oil, and another involved a gumball separation demo.

“It felt like a big hit and they were excited they could take their lava lamps home to show their friends and family,” said Alexandria Pavkovich, R&D Chemist at Restek. “I take a great interest in getting girls into science. Some of them are coming from a smaller area and it’s fun to broaden their experience and spark an interest in science.”

“GSHPA’s mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place,” said Ellen M. Kyzer, President and CEO of GSHPA. “We are successful because supporters like Restek invest in our girls and help create the next generation of successful female leaders.”

Other exhibitors at the event included Pocono Environmental Education Center, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Association for Women in Mathematics, Wildlands Conservancy, Lincoln Caverns, AccuWeather, and Da Vinci Science Center.

For more information, please visit www.restek.com or for more information about Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, please visit www.gshpa.org