Girl Scouts Learn How to be Materials Girls

This July, 15 Girl Scouts traveled to the ASM dome to take part in demonstrations that explained materials property concepts and introduced them to engineering. The scouts, who were between 7 to 11 years old, earned a Materials Girl patch by participating in the program. The day was organized by the ASM Women in Materials Engineering committee in collaboration with the Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts council.

Activities included copper plating using pennies and a Backpack Survivability exercise, where the scouts put a variety of snack bars in a three-point bending system. With assistance from volunteers, each scout was able to run her own experiments, make a hypothesis, document the variables, and record the outcomes.

ASM volunteers Kelsey Torboli, Amber Abbott Hearn, and Tom Dietrick explained the concepts and walked the scouts through the steps of each activity. They asked and answered questions to get the scouts thinking about how materials are used and manipulated, and how engineers make decisions.

“We’re thrilled with the results from the first Materials Girl event,” said Kelly Sukol, ASM staff member and liaison to the WiME committee. “By the end, the girls were able to make better predictions and were eager to learn more about materials science. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran home and tried to copper plate more objects, just to see what happens.”

Both scouts and their chaperones said they learned a lot and want to find out more about materials science. Troop leader Veronica Becker said “Kathleen [one of her scouts] explained copper plating to two different people when I was with her…She got it!”

ASM International Chapters are encouraged to put on their own Materials Girl programs, using the guide prepared by the WiME committee. Guides are available from [email protected]