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Engineering Girls 2012
Nampa eighth grade girls to probe engineering field at ITD

ITD’s engineering staff will be joined by an energetic group of 30 eighth grade girls from Nampa next week for the 2012 Engineering Girls Day.

Middle school students who want to learn more about the engineering field and perhaps turn that exposure into career tracks will tour ITD from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., explains Michelle George, senior human resource specialist.

“The neat thing about this program is that it shows girls the many opportunities available in the engineering field and transportation industry,” George said. “Early exposure can help them decide whether they want to begin an educational path that could lead to an engineering career.

“It’s always fun to see how excited the girls are to learn about what we do at ITD.”

Amy Schroeder and Monica Crider and will lead a TRAC whiteboard activity for the girls in the east conference room of the Annex from 9:40 p.m. to 10:20 a.m.

Chemist supervisor Ron Wright will follow with a short overview and one-hour tour of the Materials lab. Girls will be divided into three teams of 10 each and learn about chemistry, aggregate, asphalt mix, the “profiler” van and other topics. Janie Stillwell, Shanon Murgoitio and Mona Hunt will assist with the materials lab tour.

After breaking for lunch, the girls will test their engineering skills by building a tower made from marshmallows and dry spaghetti noodles. Lisa Vernon of Elite Edge Engineers and senior structural engineer Jason Wolfe, will lead the activity with Crider’s assistance.

The trip to ITD will conclude with a presentation by Chief Operations Officer Paul Steinman.