Girls to explore tech professions at Kids Career Day, sign-up ends Jan. 31

Area girls in grades one through six will take a hands-on approach to learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers at The University of Akron's 13th annual Kids Career Day, Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 8 a.m. to noon at the UA Student Union, 303 Carroll St.

Women engineers, mathematicians, chemists, physicists and geologists will guide girls as they turn chocolate into asphalt, construct mini hovercrafts and participate in related activities geared to help them recognize their abilities and interests in science, math, engineering and technology. Inside the Star Lab, girls will view constellations, bird migration and night skies. Dr. Arthur Benjamin, a professional magician who earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at Johns Hopkins University, will perform magic-math tricks for participants.

"I love nothing better than to watch a girl take the world of engineering, science, math and technology by storm. That's why we have had almost 300 girls attend each Kids Career Day," says Heidi Cressman, director of UA's Women in Engineering program.
 
Students interested in attending Kids Career Day must be accompanied by an adult. Program registration costs $8 and ends Jan. 31, 2012. For details, contact Cressman at hec9@uakron.edu or 330-973-7701.

About The University of Akron

The University of Akron is the public research university for Northeast Ohio. The Princeton Review listed UA among the “Best in the Midwest” in its 2010 edition of Best Colleges: Region-by-Region. Nearly 30,000 students are enrolled in UA's 300 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degree programs and 100 certificate programs at sites in Summit, Wayne, Medina, Holmes and Cuyahoga counties. For more information, visit www.uakron.edu.

Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.