Club expands formula getting girls in science - The Boston Globe: A long-running program that has boosted the academic confidence of young girls and women in Cambridge for 13 years has expanded to Boston and Lawrence this fall.
The Science Club for Girls, cofounded by Cambridge resident and mathematician Beth O'Sullivan, has been part of the after-school scene at five Cambridge elementary schools since the 1990s. This fall it debuts at the Tobin School in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood.
About 25 girls there in grades 1 to 3 will soon be dissecting cow hearts and drawing life-size human anatomy maps, said executive director Connie Chow, who helped develop the curriculum. One new grade will be added each year.
"We're starting at a very young age," said Chow, "because we want to nurture the natural curiosity children have for the world around us. Our criteria is that a program has to be in an area that's accessible for volunteers because we're so volunteer-dependent, and it has to target groups that are underrepresented."
She said that women in general, but particularly women of color, remain underrepresented in the sciences.
"From 2001 to 2007, the number of women graduating with engineering degrees declined," Chow said. She said she hopes female scientists from the Longwood area's colleges, graduate schools, and hospitals will volunteer for the program.
