July 31, 2008 IBM engineers get young girls interested in science Play video

(Anya Huneke, NECN: Essex Junction, VT) - Some 7th graders-to-be are spending this week at camp. But they're not doing much in the way of sports or arts and crafts. They're busy building robots and circuit boards. And at this camp, it's no boys allowed.

A distinct hum filled this classroom at IBM in Essex Junction, Vermont, Thursday, unpleasant, maybe, for an outsider. But a sound of success for these students.

Riley Carbone\12 years old: "It's a siren- you turn on this switch..."

These sirens were built by a group of 7th graders- taking part in a girls-only science camp.

35 girls from area schools were selected to attend a week-long program - in its 8th year here - led by IBM engineers.

The goal is to help more girls develop and pursue an interest in science, technology, math, and engineering.

Jeanne Trinko Mechler\electrical engineer "I think they're always surprised to see how capable they are. They get very excited that there's a good application for science, math, computers..."

"IBM points to a survey of teenage girls in the U.S.-- which found that only 7-percent of girls plan to go into the fields of science, engineering, and technology. And with hundreds of thousands of unfilled i.t. jobs nationwide .. Tech companies would surely like to see that number go up.">

Jeanne "tech fields are great career opportunities.">

Some of these girls don't need any convincing...
12 year-old Megan

Megan reilly\12 years old

She says she likes science because it helps answer the question "why."

Megan "it's really just amazing to see how things work."

She also enjoys proving boys her age wrong.

"At my school, a lot of boys are like- 'we like science- girls don't really like science.'"

But according to these students .. Many girls, in fact, do.

Lydia "at least in our school, girls tend to like it more than boys."

Still .. Women scientists are outnumbered in the workplace...
Jeanne "now it's about 1/4 of the population here at IBM."

...but if the science bug these girls have caught continues to spread...
...that will, they hope, eventually change.

Riley : "I guess I hope that eventually it'll be equal."

With just as many women scientists as men pulling up their sleeves and getting to work.