The Works will offer all girls math camp

NEWARK – In a recent study, the Association for Women in Science revealed that despite the fact women represented roughly 50 percent of the American population, they only represented 24 percent of the science, technology, engineering and math workforce.

That statistic didn’t sit well with Janice LoRaso, assistant director at The Works.

The museum formed a steering committee in 2014 to begin work on an initiative called Girls in STEM. It was comprised of professional women from Central Ohio who were tasked with answering one question: What could they do to help young girls discover their potential in STEM-related fields?

It was through that group that LoRaso got the idea for a special math camp, one that was solely focused on young girls. That idea became the “Prisms and Perfect Squares: Count Me In! Math Camp for Girls,” which will be offered this summer at The Works.

“We want to build on that momentum out there to have more opportunities for young girls to experience math and science,” LoRaso said. “The gender bias starts so young where girls are dissuaded from pursuing advanced math and science. We need to help them believe they can succeed in STEM fields.”

The girls math camp will run from July 27 through 31 and is open to girls age 8 to 12. The cost for the camp is $125 for members and $150 for nonmembers, with need-based scholarships available to qualifying families. Sixteen spots are available and only six have signed up as of Tuesday.

Instructors for the camp will be Rebecca Thompson, a fourth-grade math teacher at Jackson Intermediate school in the Lakewood Local Schools District, and Katie Vensil, an eighth-grade science teacher with Edison Middle School in the Perry Local Schools District in Massillon.

From 9 a.m. to noon each day, girls will build confidence in math by playing games and creating projects. Skills and topics covered in the program include multiplication and division, order of operations, graphing points, geometric concepts, squares and square roots, fractions and more.

At the end of the camp, girls who participate will have been exposed to successful female role models who are working in STEM, and LoRaso hopes it leaves them with dreams of becoming one themselves.

“I would love to have this camp be full of girls,” she said. “We really want to stay current to what is going to benefit our community in the long run, and there is a real need locally for young women in these careers.”

emaddern@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8513

Twitter: @emmaddern

Sign up for camp

The Works will host “Prisms and Perfect Squares: Count Me In! Math Camp for Girls” from July 27 through 31. Camp will be from 9 a.m. to noon daily and is for girls age 8 to 12.

The cost is $125 for members or $150 for nonmembers. Scholarships are available for families who qualify.

For more information, call The Works at 740-349-9277 or visit www.attheworks.org/classes-camps-programs/summer-camps.aspx.