G^3 Nano - GO-GIRLs Go Nano

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

We here at GO-GIRL are excited to have just held a really cool event under our latest initiative, Operation Keeping in Touch (KiT). The purpose of this new addition to the GO-GIRL program was to provide more opportunities for GO-GIRLs and their parents to investigate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) topics and careers.

This event was hosted by the Wayne State University Chemistry department. During this all day workshop, GO-GIRLs explored how very, very, small devices can be used to solve BIG medical, computational, and energy problems. Girls made their own nanomaterials and discovered ways these materials can be used to help make the world a better place. The day included a pizza & salad lunch, a chance to reconnect with friends, and opportunities to work (almost entirely 1-on-1) with current WSU students and faculty in their chemistry laboratories. The day rounded up with a final game of Nano BINGO, testing the girls' knowledge gained throughout the course of the day, complete with prizes!

In the morning, parents joined us for some community learning as well. In the WSU Undergraduate Library (UGL) some of our wonderful library science folks showed us the ins and outs of MEL.org and how to navigate this wonderful online resource. This is a great tool for parents and students alike! Then, our fabulous representative from the WSU Office of Admissions, Sylvia, held a Parent Café revolved around our GO-GIRLs of all ages and their pursuit for college. Some key themes were scholarships, social networking as a way of sharing information about the college application process, and timelines for applying to college.

Overall, our GO-GIRL staff and volunteers were so pleased with the turn out and the enthusiasm and engagement of our GO-GIRLs and their parents. We hope y'all feel the same!

G^3 Nano a Resounding Success

On November 7th over 60 girls in grades 8 – 12 arrived bright and early on the Wayne State University campus. Although the program was not scheduled to begin until 9:00 am, girls began arriving at 8:30. What brought these girls out early on a Saturday morning? The opportunity to explore the field of nanochemistry. The girls started their day by reconnecting with former GO-GIRLs during a community buidling activity and then headed off to a lecture titled “Sweating the Small Stuff: The Big Deal about Nano” delivered by Dr. Stephanie Brock, professor in the department of chemistry at WSU. After the lecture, the girls were off to the chemistry labs to make ferrofluids with the assistance of WSU students and faculty. During the lab the girls donned goggles and lab coats as they learned about scientific procedures and lab safety in the context of making their own ferrofluids. After a break for lunch, the girls were back in class. During the afternoon session, "Nanomagnets to the Rescue: Curing Cancer," the girls worked in teams to develop possible solutions to a medical application problem using ferrofluids. The day concluded with a Nano@Wayne chemistry tour including X-ray Diffraction and Electron Microscopy labs. When asked about the day one of the girls said, “the day was awesome" which says it all.