Girls develop tech skills

“We wanted to support the next generation of scientists and of course the future women of science,” said Valrie Minson, chairwoman of the Marston Science Library, which hosted the camp. “Even if the girls don’t become scientists, we want them to feel comfortable exploring science and technology.”

Dana, the Lincoln Middle schooler, said the camp appealed to her because it allowed students to physically tinker with and make things.

“Making things always interested me,” she said. “I just thought it would be fun, to hang out and make things.”

During the rest of the week, the girls will learn different coding languages, work with Adobe and make tech-savvy bracelets and other crafts.

Middle-schoolers are old enough to be interested in new and developing technology but young enough to “still have that playful spirit,” Minson said.

The camp costs $100, and scholarships were available.

Sara Gonzalez, also a librarian at the Marston Science Library, said research shows girls become less interested about the sciences in middle school, although there are only hypotheses as to why. But, she said, research shows girls feel more empowered in the sciences when they’re working together.

Gonzalez said she wanted the students to learn how to return to a project after a part of it doesn’t work. Failure, she said, is an inevitable part of learning and working with technology.

About 25 girls hunched over tables Tuesday, drawing storyboards that detailed their augmented reality adventure.

Gainesville - Daily Highlights

At the weeklong Girls Tech Camp, sponsored by the University of Florida and Alachua County Public Libraries, middle-school girls learn about coding, augmented reality, video production and 3-D printing.

On Monday, the girls created designs for printing pancakes — actual, edible pancakes — using a PancakeBot, which is kind of like a 3-D printer except it uses batter instead of ink on a griddle.

“It just tasted like a regular pancake,” said 12-year-old Dana Chen, a rising seventh-grader at Lincoln Middle School.

Her group made a pancake featuring a butterfly.

And on Tuesday, the middle-schoolers flipped through books and brainstormed how to turn a story into an augmented reality project, which includes adding graphic and motion overlays to stationary pictures. Think Pokémon Go or even GPS apps.

The day of augmented reality practice was what attracted Ella Buhler, an 11-year-old headed into sixth grade at Kanapaha Middle School. Her group turned The Wizard of Oz into a virtual project.

Ella said she enjoys learning about science. Her grandfather is a marine biologist, and she’s always had fun whenever she’s visited him at work.

“It’s really cool, and we learn lots of things,” Ella said. She wants to be a zoologist.

The camp, in its second year, aims to give girls the opportunity to learn about new technology in a comfortable environment.

“There’s a lot of failure,” Gonzalez said, “and the girls definitely learn to roll with it.”

“Failure in another step in the process,” she added. “Nothing’s really a game-stopper, and I hope that’s a message that comes through at the end of the week.”

Course Description: Students will learn to draw with a variety of mediums, including: graphite pencil, charcoal, pastel, colored pencil, conte crayon, and pen.  Students will learn about drawing still lifes, landscapes, portraits, and clothed figures.  Students will also learn basic perspective and anatomy, as well as basic calligraphy. Students will learn many different techniques and will be encouraged to develop their own techniques and methods, and will be encouraged to be creative and mix different media to create the effects they desire.  Students should begin selling their artwork online.  Students will post their completed artwork to EP’s Drawing Professionally flickr group and offer constructive comments to the other artists.  This site allows for discussion, which is not fully moderated.