Camping by the numbers

Young Latinos can learn about science, math and engineering at Girl Scout summer camp.

It’s about time for parents to start thinking about summer camp for
their children.

Camp has come a long way from the days of just horseback riding and
swimming. It's become more of a niche market. For instance, they now have
“Rock Star” camp and “Fashion Design” camp.

But there are still summer camps out there meant to enlighten, inspire
and enrich young people, like one put on by the Girl Scouts that
focuses on fun and education, specifically science, math and engineering.

Fourteen-year-old Maria Renderos of Phoenix has been a Girl Scout since
third grade. Last year she decided to branch out and try something
different. Maria already had been interested in science, math and
engineering, but this was the first summer camp she had found geared
specifically toward the three subjects.

“It just sounded like something interesting, something fun,” says Maria. “Something that I could learn how to do that might come in handy.”

Julie Thomas, teen program specialist with the Girl Scouts Arizona
Cactus Pine Council, said it's typically in middle school when girls'
“interest starts to wane in those subject areas, and so we try to have
activities and programs for them to keep them interested.”

The Cactus Pine Council's region includes about two-thirds of the state
and serves 22,315 girls. About 23 percent, or 5,247, are Latinas. The
Girl Scouts is hoping to increase that number by offering them camps
and activities in areas where they might not otherwise be exposed.

Maria said she wishes more Latinas would join the Girl Scouts. She sees
it as an untapped opportunity.

“We should want to be out there helping our community and make a
difference.”

That’s why Maria said she became a Girl Scout and why she signed up for
the math, science and engineering camp.

“It was fun. I liked it. I'd do it again,” she told me.

The camp wouldn’t be possible without the help of grants like those
provided Cox Charities, a non-profit organization that raises money
through Cox Communications' employee-driven fundraisers and personal
contributions. The organization started in 1996 and has granted more than $1.5
million dollars to Arizona charities, including the Girl Scouts.

Claudia Herrera, a Cox Communications spokesperson, says the Girl
Scouts have been recipients of Cox Charities grants twice in the past few
years. The last grant was $4,000 and helped pay for the science, math and
engineering camp last summer.

The day camp is for seventh- through tenth-grade girls and is held on
the Arizona State University in Tempe. Each year it’s led by a recent,
female electrical engineering graduate student from ASU and a mechanical
engineering student who's just finished her freshman year at ASU.

Last summer, 17 girls participated. This summer, there's room for 25.
The two-week curriculum is provided by Intel.

“I think it”s usually girls who are exploring different areas,” says
Thomas. “They come to this to just come and check it out. Sometimes it’s
girls who are definitely interested in engineering or math and they
want to get more exposure. But a lot of times it's girls who think it’s
fun and interesting and they'll try it out.”

Maria recalls a fun trip the group took to the Port of Los Angeles for
a harbor tour on a boat. For many girls, it was the first time they had
been on a boat. As a result, one of Maria's fellow campers decided to
explore a career in marine biology.

In fact, Maria enjoyed her camp experience so much she’s decided to
become an engineer.

“I wasn't (thinking about becoming an engineer) until I got into it and
thought maybe I could become an engineer and make a difference in some
way.”