More than 140 sophomore high school girls will visit The University of Toledo Wednesday, May 10 when prominent female scientists and engineers across the region will introduce them to the exciting world of science and technology careers through hands-on experiments and demonstrations.

The eighth annual Women in STEMM Day of Meetings, which goes by the acronym WISDOM, will take place from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on UT’s Main Campus and Health Science Campus.

UT faculty and industrial professionals from Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Spartan Chemical Co. Inc., will help inspire a passion for science careers by exploring the tools of the trade. The visiting high school students will also get to interact with female graduate students in the various areas in science, engineering and the health sciences.

The girls will carry out investigations in a number of areas, including physics and astronomy, chemistry, biology, engineering, pharmacy and medicine.

Activities for students will include building solar cells, using liquid nitrogen to make objects float in the air, swabbing their cheeks for a DNA sample, building a motor, generating electricity on a bike, making biodiesel fuel, using patient simulators to practice patient interventions, and making lip balm (see schedule below).

During lunch in the Brady Center on the Engineering campus the students will learn about coding and its importance for future careers in STEMM.

“Girls are just as interested in science and technology as their male peers, but the number of girls that make it to college to pursue a major and get a job in a STEMM field is not growing as we need it to do,” said Edith Kippenhan, senior lecturer in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, director of WISDOM and past president of the Northwestern Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science. “Women approach problems differently, and they come up with different, equally valid solutions. We need them in the workforce to better design products and solutions for the various problems facing our society and our planet.”

Students from Toledo Public, Washington Local and Oregon Schools, as well as from the Toledo Islamic Academy and Wildwood Environmental Academy, will participate in WISDOM at the University.

“It is our goal to show the students they have a real and doable pathway to their dream career in STEMM,” Kippenhan said. “It is our hope that a visit to UT for events such as WISDOM will inspire them to embrace science and technology, and turn their dreams into reality.”

The event is hosted by the Northwestern Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science. Sponsors include Marathon Petroleum Corp., Columbia Gas, Spartan Chemical Co., Toledo Section of the American Chemical Society, the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women, and the UT Colleges of Engineering, Medicine and Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Photo/video opportunities include:

• Building solar cells: 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. in Thompson Student Union Room 3016 on UT’s Main Campus;
• Using liquid nitrogen to float objects: 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. in Thompson Student Union Auditorium on UT’s Main Campus;
• Building motors: 10:25 a.m. in Brady Engineering Innovation Center on UT’s Main Campus;
• DNA sampling: 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. in Thompson Student Union Room 3018 on UT’s Main Campus; and
• Making lip balm: 9:10 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. in Health Education Building Room 019 on UT’s Health Science Campus.