By Patience Idegwu
Seattle Medium Intern
When young girls of color come together to explore science and math for a week, they become exposed to success. They are given the opportunity to experience creativity in all aspects of life. That is the purpose of a science program held by the Greater Seattle Chapter of the Links, Incorporated.
The Links Science Camp for Curious Minds is a summer camp for young girls of color in grades 6 to 8. The week-long camp focuses on remote sensing, which is a way of getting information about the earth through satellite or high-flying aircraft. This first-year program was sponsored and organized by the Greater Seattle Links, in partnership with the Pacific Science Center.
According to Dr. Liz A. Thomas, a member of Greater Seattle Links and the science camp program lead, the camp is a continuation of the Links’ “Building STEAM” program, which is designed to enhance learning opportunities in the fields of science and technology for African American girls and girls of color in the Greater Seattle area.
“We want to expand the worldview, the vision, the experiences of African-American girls and girls of color, beyond their world, their neighborhood, their school, so that they know how to function and develop strengths in all different kinds of environments,” said Thomas. “That’s going to allow them to build confidence in themselves, because you learn how to handle whatever comes to you in a new situation.”
The camp, which gave participants a hands-on understanding of remote sensing, allowed the students to learn how scientist use these tools to scan, track and explore the universe. They used infrared technology to explore how firefighters track wildfires, and set up their own tracking experiment just like biologists use to track animals in the wild. They also studied satellite imagery of sea ice and collected data to compare with current sea surface conditions. In addition, they discovered what the Doppler effect, an increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other, and police radar guns have in common.
The final day of the camp, concluded with a closing ceremony that featured speakers like Will Daugherty, President and CEO of the Pacific Science Center, and Iris Childress, chair of the International Trends & Services group for Greater Seattle Links. In addition, the students received certificates for their participation and were treated to a liquid nitrogen ice cream party.
The camp was eye-opening to most of the participants, and their parents were able to see the impact that the camp had on their children.
Parents like Colleen Washington wanted to make sure she was there for her daughter, Peyton, as she received her award. Washington was impressed with the program and the influence it had on her daughter.
“This is a positive learning experience,” said Washington. “It was important for [my daughter] to see children of color in science and being exposed to science in general. It is beneficial that she was able to learn in a fun way.”
Peyton agreed with her mom’s comment and said that she wants to be part of the program next year. Peyton’s favorite part of the program was learning about the rovers on the moon, and how many light years earth is away from Mars.
“If the goal is to encourage girls of color to enter a field where we are underrepresented, then we need to start early to build the pool,” stated Dr. Mildred Ollee of the Greater Seattle Links, as she described the importance of the program.
Next year, the program is hoping to reach more young African-American girls, especially those who have interests in careers that are underrepresented. A dream might not be found unless given an opportunity. Because of this program, local students like Peyton Washington now have found something that they are passionate about.
“Every single thing we’ve done [with the program] is to create an experience for our girls that we hope they will never forget,” said Thomas. “And we’re hoping…. to encourage them to reach beyond their fear to take chemistry, to get them to start thinking about their place in the world.”
