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July 24 - July 30, 2011

The 2011 Young Women’s Summer Institute was a huge success! During this week, Ohio’s brightest young women shared in the excitement of scientific discovery and analysis. Fifteen middle-school girls and teachers received hands-on training in scientific methodologies and the use of sophisticated technologies.

Everyday was filled with new adventures and learning experiences. The program began on Sunday evening. Pizza and icebreaker games gave the girls a chance to get to know each other. They were then separated into their assigned groups for the week and played a word-game to begin learning new vocabulary.

On Monday, the girls were introduced to the science that they would need to know during the week. They learned all about rivers and the effect that humans have on the water supply. They were instructed on how to tell a clean river from a polluted river and how to use chemical and biological tests to determine water quality. The girls also had a chance to practice the chemical tests that they would use at Darby Creek. Once the hard work was over it was time to relax and enjoy an evening of swimming at the Grandview Pool!

On Tuesday, the girls enjoyed a day of fun in the sun as they explored the ecosystem of Battelle Darby Creek. Students were issued the task of performing various tests on the creek's water quality to determine the overall health of the stream. Also, students performed the infamous 'Darby Shuffle', essentially a shuffle to disturb the rocks and riverbed to move the creatures out from hiding so that they can be captured and analyzed for healthiness and variety of species. Finally, there was a demonstration by the EPA of electro-fishing, a technique which stuns the fish momentarily and causes them to swim towards the source of the electricity. This allows for easy capture and analysis before the fish are returned back to the stream.

Wednesday, the girls spent the day at OSC working on their group projects and learning new computer programs such as PowerPoint and a modeling suite. Later in the evening they attended a career night event on OSU’s campus, where they were able to meet and interact with women from various science, engineering and technology-based professions.

On Thursday, the girls spent the majority of the day working on their projects and preparing them for Saturday's presentation. They also learned how to create a website for their projects using HTML and how to prepare models of their data for the final presentation.

Friday was the final day of project preparation and the girls worked very hard to complete their PowerPoint presentations. They spent most of the day putting the finishing touches on their projects and also practicing their public speaking skills. It was a long day, but by dinner time everyone was comfortable with their presentations for Saturday.

On Saturday, the young women presented their projects in front of all the staff, teachers and family members. It was truly amazing to see how much they had accomplished by the end of the week. It was a proud moment for all involved. After the presentations, each person received an award and a congratulatory certificate.

Overall, it was an incredible week with an incredible group of young women!