2008 Summer
Workshop Track Descriptions

Participants will be placed in one of the following tracks for the workshop.  Each track will be composed of 10-12 girls. You will sign up for tracks when you receive your confirmation letter. Assignments will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Biofuels: Learn about how crops are turned into fuels.  Then make your own biofuels from cotton, woodchips, and vegetable oil!

Computer Gaming Design: Learn how to create a computer game! By the end of the workshop, you will have a computer game written by you!

Designing Spaces: Experience some of the design issues encountered by an Architectural Engineer, when you create your own model and incorporate structural elements, heating, and lighting into your model.

Green Roof Design: Follow nature's lead in storm water management. Design your own green roof to help capture and re-use rainwater!

Nano-Scale Polymers: Explore the nano-scale (SUPER small) structures used in drug delivery, artificial bones, intelligent sensors, and super-

sorbent baby diapers!  Prepare structures in the lab, and take ultra-high magnification pictures of your structure.

Robotics: Learn about what makes robots work and what they can do. Then build and program a robot to do jobs for you even when you’re not there!

Take Flight!: Explore the principles of flight and investigate how engineers have developed one of one of the safest modes of transportation--the airplane. Learn how engineers are revolutionizing the fuel efficiency of planes while making them faster and more comfortable! Use these techniques to design, build and test your own plane!

24 Carat EXCITEment: In this activity you will get a chance to build and test a nano-sensor all by yourself. . Nano-sensors can detect minute quantities of explosives, bio-agents, chemicals, and other dangerous materials. You will work with nano-particles made of Gold!! You will convert these gold-nano-particles into a nano-sensor. EXCITEd?

You must have Acrobat Reader in order to view and print all EXCITE! publications, follow the link below to download a free version of the program.