Erie, PA — In 2016, when she attended her first GE Girls STEAM camp at Penn State University Berend, Ellie Shade drew Shrinky Dinks and created her own flavored lip balm.

“It definitely affected me,” she said. “I realized the fun of the STEAM field”

Shade is back at camp this summer as a college volunteer. She guides 50 middle school students through her week-long hands-on STEAM workshops, which include her Lip Cream module, which introduces the fundamentals of design, electronics, chemistry, structure, and energy. I helped She worked with her Behrend faculty and her Wabtec Corp female mentor.

“It was kind of cool to be able to help them with the activities I did as a camper,” she said. is cool.”

The hands-on aspect was largely lost during the COVID pandemic until camp coordinators Wabtec and the university’s Youth Education Outreach partnership came up with their own problem-solving. They mailed each student his STEAM activity kit. , dialed into the virtual presentation.

This year, students at the camp (Wabtec Girls, now known as STEAM) made slime and rolled marbles on a makeshift roller coaster. They also programmed the robot to do dance moves.

Thirteen-year-old Sparrow McGill attended a virtual camp. She is excited to be back this year and working directly with her peers.

“It’s more fun this year,” she said. “I made a lot of new friends.”

Naomi Baker, also 13, learned basic programming. She is a student at Erie Cyber ​​Academy.

“There are a lot of careers in engineering that I didn’t know about,” she said. “I think I’ll enjoy them.”

That “lightbulb” moment — when a girl understands how math and science concepts directly affect her everyday life — is Wabtec’s Human Resources Manager Kelly Hamilton’s goal.

“The real value is for these girls to come out into the community and keep exploring this,” she said. increase.”