Some of the 60 graduates of the Girl Power Program gather for a graduation ceremony in the
spring of 2005 at the Phillips Avenue School.

Girl Power 21st Century: Growing Strong, Moving On
        
Two years ago Stony Brook University researcher Janice Grackin, Ph.D. was awarded another three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to continue and expand the successful four-year-old Girl Power Program, now referred to as Girl Power 21st Century: Growing Strong, Moving On.

In order to provide older girls with more options, the program is now comprised of three modules that follow girls who started the program four years ago as a Beginner at the Phillips Avenue School continued through an Advanced module at Pulaski and are now beginning Project Options for girls who are entering 7th grade at the middle school. The program has continued to follow these girls and help them build on their knowledge base.

The Girl Power 21st Century program exposes girls to science and technology in fun and interesting ways, not only through weekly and monthly activities in the computer classrooms at Stony Brook University, but also through a series of very special events and activities.

In 2004 girls talked on campus with an invited panel of women in science and technology careers and also visited the LI Science Center where they learned about aeronautics, building and launching their own model rockets.

In the spring of 2005 the girls engaged in an interactive live video conference with a female aerospace engineer who researches making aircraft quieter. Also, the girls visited the NY Hall of Science where they learned about the science of color and built their own spectroscopes and explored the many hands-on science and technology exhibits.

Through Girl Power 21st Century participating girls are learning that girls and women DO serious science and technology--and have fun, too. Data collected so far suggest that Girl Power 21st Century is positively influencing how girls think about their relationship to science and technology.

The project recently received substantial additional funding from the National Science Foundation and is positioned to obtain project continuation funding through 2009.

Girl Power 21st Century hosts a FREE weeklong technology day camp, open to girls in 4th-6th grade who have participated in the Girl Power Program. The camp provides an opportunity for girls to add to their knowledge of computer technology by learning to create their own unique web pages and to do research on the web.

To view the web pages these young women made, check out the Girl Power website at: www.celt.sunysb.edu/GP21.