Ride
launches festival
Girls, let’s
do launch! That’s the way one waggish Florida newspaper headlined
a story on the Sally Ride Science Festival, which comes to Caltech on
Saturday, March 19. As you might guess, the festival is the brainchild
of Ride, America’s first female astronaut, and is primarily intended
for girls in grades five through eight, their parents, and educators.
That age group is a critical time for girls and science, since it’s
the time when they begin to drift away from their natural interests in
science and math. That’s a situation that Ride, the Ingrid and Joseph
Hibben Professor of Space Science and professor of physics at UC San Diego,
has devoted a large part of her life to reversing.
Over the
last few years Ride has organized these festivals around the country,
attracting hundreds of girls and parents for a day of science, socializing,
and fun. Her company, Sally Ride Science, is dedicated to creating events,
programs, and activities that support girls’ interest in
science, math, and technology.
This is the
third year the festival has taken place on the Caltech campus. This year,
registration begins at 11:00 a.m. The festival runs from 11:00 a.m. to
4:15 p.m. The $18 advance registration fee ($25 the day of the event)
includes full festival participation, souvenirs, and lunch. Girls attending
the festival also can join the Sally Ride Science Club for a sponsored
rate of $5 for the first year.
Highlights
will include:
• A
keynote address by Ride describing her experiences in space;
• A
“Sour Power” electrochemical engineering workshop;
• A
biological science workshop called “CSI Los Angeles—A Science
'Who-Dun-It?'” that let's kids become a crime scene investigator
for the afternoon;
• Hands-on,
creative science, math, and technology-related workshops such as
“Mystery of Booming Sand,” and “A Tumble Through Time:
How You Developed From a Single Cell,” presented by Caltech faculty;
• A
street fair with science demonstrations, entertainment, free stuff, a
drawing for prizes, and the chance to meet the former astronaut.
• For
parents and teachers, the opportunity to participate in workshops on ways
to support girls' interests in science and math;
Ride, a member
of the Caltech Board of Trustees, became the first American woman to orbit
Earth when she flew aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Her second
flight was also aboard Challenger in 1984, and she was training for a
third mission when the spaceship exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986.
Ride is the
only person to serve on the accident investigation boards for both space
shuttles Columbia and Challenger. Sally Ride Science was founded by her
to support the large numbers of girls and young women who are, or might
become, interested in science, math, and technology. The company organizes
events, programs, and activities for girls that empower them, engage them,
and encourage their interests. Besides the festivals, current programs
include Sally Ride Science Camps, TOYchallenge, and the Sally Ride Science
Club—a national club created to keep middle-school girls engaged
in science adventures by connecting them to people, information, and attitudes
that will nurture their relationship with science. For more information
on Sally Ride Science programs, please visit: www.SallyRideScience.com,
or call (800) 561-5161.
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