Rocket launches and laser light shows are a few of the ways UNM students and faculty hope to impress participants in Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
The annual event is part of a national campaign to introduce young girls to the workforce and illustrate the importance of going to college. Across the United States today, parents are encouraged to take their daughter to work.
All daughters of UNM employees and local students ages 8 to 12 can register for the event. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at Centennial Plaza, where students will receive a snack, an information packet and a nametag.
Event organizer Elaine Borrelli said about 20 students from Albuquerque schools have already signed up to participate. She added that the goal is to familiarize the young girls with engineering, chemistry, physics and medicine.
Borrelli said the activities and demonstrations that the students will see are designed to spark interest in fields that young girls may not be exposed to very often.
"A lot of girls don't get exposure to different sciences and this allows them to be up close and personal with women who are in the different areas of study," she said.
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The girls will be on the main campus for the morning activities where they will watch a laser light demonstration by Physics Professor Dana Brabson and a water demonstration by Engineering Professor Julia Coonrod.
"Professor Coonrod will teach water conservation and the importance that water has on the earth," Borrelli said.
During lunch, the girls will watch a rocket launch near the Duck Pond.
"It's a very impressive demonstration - loud and big," Borrelli said.
The students will then take a shuttle to north campus and watch a demonstration by the students and faculty of the School of Medicine. Borrelli said the girls will look at parasites under a microscope and will tour the occupational therapy facilities. They also will take a tour of the UNM helicopter pad on the roof of the Basic Medical Sciences Building.
"I think the girls will be excited when they see the helicopter and learn the importance of being a lifeguard," Borrelli said.
The girls will end the day with a wheelchair race at 4 p.m. in the Health Sciences Services Building.
"We are making all of the activities fun and exciting, but at the same time hopefully showing these girls that with hard work and dedication, they too can become anything they want to be," Borelli said.
The UNM Society of Women Engineers, Women in Science and School of Engineering and the UNM Health Sciences Center are sponsoring the event.
