1. Summer Science Camp Retrospective
Juliet W. Brosing, PhD Pacific University
Jenna LeComte-Hinely Portland State University

2. Description of Camp
Participants were 7th and 8th grade girls from local schools who showed interest in science and math
Four week long day camp, summers
All female staff and faculty
Varied science content included physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, math, computer science
Field trips to meet women scientists and practitioners
One overnight trip to the coast
Opportunity to return the following year as an intern
Campers were given a $1,000 scholarship to Pacific University

3. Methods
Contacted parents of former campers through U.S. mail to ask for contact information for their daughters and/or for them to pass on a paper survey to their daughters
Used Facebook.com and yellowpages.com to search for participants online
Asked former campers to complete an online survey
Assured campers confidentiality
Included participants in a drawing to win a $50 gift card
Aggregated results to analyze descriptively

4. Year in school and age as a function of calendar year
Blue: enter college,
Pink: enter graduate school,
Green: Complete PhD, MD?

5. Responses N = 81, Response rate from total campers: 42%,
Response rate from total campers who were contacted 89%

6. Subsequent Education Undergraduate Majors Graduate Degrees
N=68, Campers with or working on graduate degrees--49%
N=81, 100% of respondents attended college

8. What the Campers Said
“Because of my experiences at the camp, I felt I could explore a career in science. … I eventually chose to become a doctor. I believe the camp was an early positive experience that allowed me the confidence to explore science as a possibility. It also taught me that science could be fun, challenging, and that I could meet others with a similar interest. Having female role models at that age is so important and working with female scientists was an invaluable experience.”
“While I did not end up in a science career, I think being around positive academic women at that point in my life certainly gave me some academic confidence. I do think I carried this with me to college and law school.”

9. What the Campers Said
“Overall this was a great experience. I loved the fieldtrips and I made friends with girls that I'm still in contact with. It was at an awkward age with boys, so it was great to be around all girls. I also loved the fact that everything was provided, from lunch on campus (which felt very grown up) to the tri met passes. If I had a daughter I would love to send her to this camp!”
“Although I did not select a career directly tied to science or math, I came away from my summer camp experience with a great deal of confidence and comfort in those areas. Just being able to know that my academic and professional choices would be actual choices has lead me to feel empowered. I believe that this camp was a turning point in my development as a person.”

10. Conclusions
The camp boosted girls' academic confidence, encouraged their science interests, and made a difference in their lives.
Having all female staff and faculty and having many different female role models was very important.
Social contact with other girls interested in science was essential.

11. Implications and Future Directions (Ideas Welcome)
How to locate more campers?
Publish results: any ideas for publications?

12. New and Improved Camp
We have obtained NSF funding to restart the camp: This time the topic is solely computer science
Partnering with OPB for some of the video and web stuff
Still targeting 7th and 8th grade girls
Will include many of the features of the earlier camp (all female faculty and staff, field trips, 4 wks long, bus passes, no cost to participants, etc.)
Trying to attract more minorities (Hispanic and Native Americans)
Plan to retain contact and follow up with girls for 10 years