Workshops for Girls in grades 5-8

Saturday, March 2, 2013
8:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

(snow date Saturday, March 23)

Click here to register.

Allyn J. Washington Center for Science and Art
(Program begins in Drumlin Hall, North Cafeteria)
Dutchess Community College
53 Pendell Road, Poughkeepsie

This innovative Dutchess Community College program, now in its 17th year, introduces girls to opportunities in historically male-dominated fields. The program is open to girls in fifth through eighth grades; there is a $10 registration fee and online preregistration is required.

The program offers hands-on workshops in science, technology, engineering and math developed by DCC faculty and designed to engage young women and encourage them to explore career opportunities in those fields. Students can be actively involved in hands-on experiments, discovering the worlds of geometry, biology, chemistry, physics, and more.

Students will have to opportunity to listen to a speaker at 9:00 a.m. followed by attending three different workshops at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and noon.

There are 18 different workshops in all, each lasting 50 minutes. Students select their three workshops on a first-come, first-served basis during online registration. All the girls will be together for the opening hour, which will feature an address by biogeochemist Dr. Kathleen C. Weathers, Senior Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, will present "From English to Environmental Science - An Unexpected Journey."

Participating faculty come from the DCC Departments of Mathematics, Physical and Computer Sciences, Engineering, Allied Health and Biological Sciences and Performing, Visual Arts and Communications.

The program includes four optional workshops for parents:

9:00 a.m.:  Michael Roe, DCC Director of Admissions “College Prep for Parents”  

10:00 a.m.: “How Danica McKellar's Books Can Help Your Daughter Be More Successful with Math” (Tara Alvarado, Conrad Geoscience Corp. Administrative Assistant and Mom of an 11-year-old) 

11:00 a.m.:  “It’s Not Your Mother’s Library:  Web Resources & Databases at the Ritz Library” (Tom Trinchera, DCC Reference Librarian)

12:00 p.m.:  “The Mystery of Financial Aid” (Sue Mead, DCC Director of Financial Aid)

Parent workshops are free and pre-registration is not required.

Girls should be dropped off at 8:45 a.m. They should go directly to the Drumlin Hall cafeteria for check-in. Parents can come with the girls to the cafeteria to listen to the speaker if they are interested.

Registration will open on January 21. Click on the links at left to view schedules and workshop descriptions, and to register. Space is limited; early registration is recommended. The registration fee of $10 for the entire morning is payable online by credit or debit card. 

• Due to room capacities and fire regulations, adults will not be permitted to accompany students into the workshops.
• Event check-in is 8:45 am in Drumlin Hall cafeteria on the DCC main campus.
• A campus map can be found here.
• If students are being dropped off, they must be picked up by 12:40 p.m. in the lobby of Washington Hall. Pickup and drop off will be at the circle between Washington Hall and CBI.
• Parents wishing to stay may attend parent workshops or wait in the parents' lounge on the first floor of Washington Hall, W126.
• Parking is available in Lot D off Cottage Road. Follow signs from there to the check-in location at the North Cafeteria in Drumlin Hall.
• If you don't feel that your daughter is ready to move from classroom to classroom within the building on her own, then you may want to consider waiting one more year before attending. The event is designed for girls in fifth through eighth grade.

For more information, contact Tony Zito at (845) 431-8545 or zito@sunydutchess.edu.