Girls, Math & Science Partnership Partners with Harrisburg University on Click! Camps
6/18/2009
Jun 16, 2009--The Center for Advanced Entertainment & Learning Technologies at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Girls, Math & Science Partnership (GMSP), a program of Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, to continue the development and improvement of the Click! summer camp series for girls.
Click! is an innovative urban science adventure program designed specifically for middle school girls. The Click! summer spy camp combines compelling narrative and storytelling with science instruction and cutting-edge technology to give girls a truly unique experience.
”Click! takes a very novel approach to informal science education for girls, and enables girls to fully immerse themselves in the storyline while learning how to use and harness science and technology to collaboratively solve problems,” says Charles Palmer, the Executive Director of Harrisburg University’s Center for Advanced Entertainment & Learning Technologies (CAELT) and an Associate Professor of Multimedia. “It’s been a great pleasure to work with GMSP over the years, and I’m excited to extend that partnership to the Harrisburg University community.”
Harrisburg University is the only science and technology-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in applied science and technology fields to a diversity of students. GMSP’s partnership with Harrisburg University represents the latest phase in a longstanding relationship with Palmer, who previously served as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). He has been involved as a consultant with the building and design of the Click! since 2006, designing a custom user interface for the tablet computers used by Click! participants and contributing significantly to overall program development for the summer series.
“We’re thrilled to work with Harrisburg University, which is truly on the cutting edge of STEM research and development. We look forward to collaborating with this major academic resource in Pennsylvania and to fostering positive relationships between the girls we serve and the female STEM professionals and students at Harrisburg University,” says Jennifer Stancil, executive director of the Girls, Math & Science Partnership.
Palmer has worked with GMSP to convert the Click! computer interfaces from the custom program to an open-source, HTMLbased interface, affording more flexibility and allowing Click! girls to more effectively utilize the Internet as a learning tool.
“Charles has been driving the technology for Click! since our partnership formed. To continue to involve the students of CAELT, under Charles’ leadership, models the way academia and non-profits can collaborate to shape high-quality educational experiences,” says Stancil.
Starting in 2009, Click! participants will use iPhones to connect with each and to program components; Palmer has also developed a mobile interface for those devices called M-Click! Also debuting in 2009, Click! Level 3, for girls age 13 and older and entering eighth grade, focuses on expressive technologies and explores how girls use, adapt, and create technology in ways that help them to express their identifies positively and safely online while being fully engaged in the power of the Web.
The Girls, Math & Science Partnership (GMSP) was created to address issues regarding girls, their participation in science, and the expansion of their opportunities in and influence on the science and technology workforce. Working with girls ages 11–17, their teachers, parents and mentors, GMSP draws organizations, stakeholders and communities together in an effort to ensure that girls succeed in math and science. The partnership’s mission is to engage, educate and embrace girls as architects of change.
In 1999, The Heinz Endowments began collaborating with the Alcoa Foundation and Family Communications, Inc. to incubate the partnership, establishing its commitment to scientific literacy projects. GMSP’s successful website, www.BrainCake.org, receives more than 7 million hits a year. Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center is now providing the administrative home for the partnership and acts as a steward of its continuing mission.
Carnegie Science Center is dedicated to inspiring learning and curiosity by connecting science and technology with everyday life. By making science both relevant and fun, the Science Center’s goal is to increase science literacy in the region and motivate young people to seek careers in science and technology. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Science Center is Pittsburgh’s premier science exploration destination, reaching 700,000 people annually through its hands-on exhibits, camps, classes, and off-site education programs.
