Eureka Research Fair

Girls Inc. of Worcester plans to offer an 8-session program for 20 high-school girls enrolled in Eureka a 5-year program that involves at-risk girls in planned activities and education that increases their opportunity for success in STEM education and careers. This program will take place from November 2016 through February 2017, and will complement and enhance the Eureka curriculum. Each year, girls participate in Eureka for 4 weeks during the summer 160 hours followed by monthly meetings and workshops during the school year 30 hours. The program helps participants see themselves as an important part of the future workforce by providing an intensive, educational 4-week summer program and guided opportunities for increased knowledge and skill-building during the school year. Currently the Eureka components include topics such as architecture, physics, engineering, individual and team sports, computers and forensics, kinesiology, video game design, animal metamorphosis, optics and rocket science. Eureka also includes Core Essential Services by providing programming that falls under three categories of Healthy Living, Academic Enrichment, and Life Skills. This proposed additional component will focus on the girls' health issues that affect their community through resources such as PubMed and Medline Plus. Participants will also learn to safely navigate the Internet and identify information from reputable sources, as well as use JoVE The Journal of Visualized Experiments to learn specific laboratory techniques. To fulfill this component of the program, Girls Inc. will need both access to the Internet and a subscription to JoVE. A 2015 Community Engagement Award enabled Girls Inc. staff and 18 Eureka participants in grade 11 from Eureka Cohort 1 in the use of PubMed and Medline by UMass staff. Girls Inc. proposes that an additional 20 Eureka participants receive that training this year. Those 20 students would each choose an applicable