April 15, 2004

Northwestern welcomes to work more than 300 daughters April 22

By Judy Moore

For the 10th consecutive year, Northwestern will observe Take Our Daughters to Work Day next Thursday, April 22.

During Take Our Daughters to Work Day last year, Kelsey Davis maneuvers a robotic arm. The session “Virtual Reality for the Fingertips” was billed as a demonstration of how to extend virtual reality beyond the senses of sight and sound to include touch. Sessions this year include “Exploration of Mars,” “Technogrrrls” and “The Human Body Under the Microscope.”

photo by Mary Hanlon

Established by the Ms. Foundation, which is celebrating the 12th anniversary of this event, this nationally recognized program helps girls to focus on the numerous career options open to them.

“We are expecting more than 300 girls, aged 9 to 16, to participate in the related activities that will emphasize careers in math, science and computer technology,” said Renée Redd, director of the Women’s Center.

There are 15 tour tracks in Evanston and eight in Chicago from which to choose.

This year, there will be 11 new or revised workshops on the Evanston campus and two new workshops on the Chicago campus. They are:

Evanston

• “Calling All Cooks.” Girls will learn about restaurant and culinary careers and how to make cakes for “chocolate lovers” while working alongside culinary arts students in the pastry kitchen of Kendall College.

• “Exploration of Mars.” The future of Mars exploration will be discussed. Girls will view three-dimensional images of Mars and also discover what it takes to live on the distant planet by playing the ”Who Wants to Be A Martian?” game.

• “Messing Around with Sound.” Participants will explore different sounds and work to create a short musical composition during their visit to the School of Music.

• “Technogrrrls.” Girls will work alongside computer science graduate students doing a hands-on project using NetLogo (a cross-platform, multi-agent programmable modeling environment from CLL) for a fun and easy introduction to the fundamentals of computer science programming.

• “AdMania.” A group of Kellogg School of Management women will lead interactive activities to teach the girls about advertising techniques and strategies. They will work in teams to create an advertising campaign.

• “Flirting or Hurting? Exploring sexual harassment issues.” Girls will view excerpts from popular films and discuss their views on what is acceptable in today’s academic environment. Career options in the legal profession will also be presented.

• “From Robots to Rats” (originally titled “From Transformers to Freakazoids”). Girls will learn to operate a remote controlled tele-robot that is being developed to disassemble nuclear reactors. They will compare how quickly they can track a target on a computer screen when working alone versus working with a partner using a two-person joystick. Girls will try to ride a Snakeboard® (a skateboard-like device) and learn how it might teach us about how robots move. They also will discuss how rat whiskers help engineers design better robots.

• “Cameraless Filmmaking.” Stan Brackhage’s “Mothlight,” a three- minute, 14-second film made without a camera, will be shown. Afterward, each girl will produce a 5-second experimental film by drawing on clear leader (perforated tape the same width as 16mm film from which projectable prints were made) with Magic Markers® and other media. An hour of drawing and a short screening of their works will follow.

• “What’s My Line?” During an updated version of the old television game show, girls will use iSight (a state-of-the-art video camera used to video conference with colleagues, friends and family over broadband) in the Multimedia Learning Center to compete in teams to guess the occupational and professional background of a mystery guest in another room.

• “The Art of Negotiation.” Volunteers from the Kellogg Women’s Business Association will engage girls in a team negotiation and talk about creativity and information sharing used in negotiations.

• “The Power of Women Who Write.” Girls will learn about the creative processes of writing, layout and publishing. They will work with other girls to create a newsletter and learn how they can reach large audiences through their writing.

Chicago

• “Facts at Your Fingertips.” Participants will learn tips and tricks to find what they need on the Internet when they need it, then present the information in a Word document or Power-point display, incorporating graphics or a video file.

• “The Human Body Under the Microscope.” Girls will examine healthy and diseased organs of the body under a microscope.

Staff and faculty members who would like to sponsor a daughter, granddaughter, niece, neighbor or friend should complete a registration form for either the Chicago or Evanston campus. Registration forms were delivered in the mail and are also available at both Women’s Centers.

The registration deadline is today (April 15). A fee of $10 per person in the form of a personal check or money order payable to Northwestern must be received by today. Late registrants must add a $5 fee.

Volunteers are needed for chaperoning, driving and registration. Call (312) 503-3401 to assist on the Chicago campus or (847) 491-2734 to assist on the Evanston campus.

The 2004 event is sponsored by the Take Our Daughters to Work Day Committee, the Women’s Center and the Association of Northwestern University Women.

Support is provided by the Office of the President, Office of the Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, and the Provost’s Office.