Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: McMaster University
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=4275

McMaster to host Go Eng Girl

October 11, 2006

Event encourages girls
to study engineering
by Faculty of Engineering
October 11, 2006

Forget about how to build a better mousetrap. What you can build from a
mousetrap is one of the activities that more than 175 elementary and high
school girls from Hamilton-Wentworth, Halton, Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk, and
Niagara will be learning this weekend.

The Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University is once again hosting Go
Eng Girl, a province-wide initiative organized to introduce more young women
to engineering.

The event is being held Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. McMaster is
one of 15 universities across Ontario hosting the second-annual Go Eng Girl
event.

This year's hands-on activity will have students in Grades 7 and 8 building
Formula-Mouse cars from mousetraps. Girls in Grades 9 through 11 will build
mousetrap catapults to see how far and how accurately they can toss a small
ball.

Participants will also have a chance to talk to women working in engineering
as well as women studying engineering to learn about some of the amazing
things they are doing.

The students will also learn about engineering-related activities and
opportunities outside of the classroom from student organizations such as
Formula SAE, Solar Car, Engineers Without Borders, and the Women in
Engineering Committee.

"This event is a way to introduce young women to the many appealing career
opportunities the engineering profession has to offer," said Heather
Sheardown, Chair of Women in Engineering and associate professor in chemical
engineering at McMaster University. "It also helps to dispel continuing
stereotypes about the engineering profession as being male only."

Go Eng Girl is presented by The Ontario Network of Women in Engineering with
the support of the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering, the Ontario
Society of Professional Engineers, Hatch Ltd., Dow Inc., Gennum Corporation,
Hydro ONE, Inco Limited, IBM, Ontario Power Generation, The Woodbridge
Group, and ACTUA.

To register, please visit the Go Eng Girl website.