(158c) Recruiting Middle School Girls to Engineering and Information Technology with Computer Mania Day

The Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has hosted Computer Mania Day (http://www.computer-mania.info) for the last four years. This fun-filled half day event provides engineering and technology related activities geared for 6th – 8th grade girls and their parents. While boys are welcome, the focus is on girls because of their continuing under-participation in engineering and information technology classes and careers. This program is designed to provide a broad-based introduction to engineering and information technology and to different careers. Attendance to this program has tripled in the last four years. Up to 800 students are gathered in small groups of not more than twenty fine, and the groups rotate between engineering and information technology demonstration stations. At each station, female role models working in engineering and IT careers, help the students learn about the application of engineering and technology to the world of work through fun and interactive activities.

An adult program complements the day by providing information about causes for girls' low enrollment in engineering and technology courses and what adults can do to encourage girls to embrace engineering and technology. During the half day event, adults participate in a series of breakout sessions covering a variety of topics, which help parents better prepare their children to enter careers in engineering and IT. Adults receive advice from engineering and IT business professionals, state education leaders, and school and college educators. Parents also have the option of visiting several special topic seminars and taking tours of the campus.

The Computer Mania Day event begins with a four-minute, high-quality video encouraging young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This award winning video was funded by NSF (HRD-0225079) as an entrée to a discussion of women's opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. The video will be featured during the presentation. Due to the success of this event, the organizers have received numerous requests for information as how to organize Computer Mania Day. Therefore, we are in the process of developing a “Computer Mania Day Replication Playbook and Video” to help others create this event at their own institutions. Details of the playbook and video will also be featured during this presentation.