1. Choose an activity to fill one hour

• Workshops often start with a 5-10 minute talk about careers in your field of study. This should be done by a person who has been or is currently working in your field. Have them avoid using technical terms that the girls will not understand
• The bulk of your time should be spent doing hands-on activities. Each girl must have a chance to participate in the experiment or demonstration. Do not allow them to just sit and watch. Beyond those requirements, you are free to decide what to do.
• The workshops run three times during the day (twice in the morning and once in the afternoon). During each session, plan activities to occupy 8-12 girls (you will tell us how many you can take). If you have limited equipment or space for some activities, you may decide to divide the girls into smaller groups and rotate them through shorter activities. If you do this, you may want additional volunteers to staff the stations.

2. Recruit friends and colleagues to help you

• Fellow graduate students and lab mates are an obvious choice for recruitment. Undergraduate students are usually eager to help as well. Be sure to schedule with your volunteers early on! Start asking for help early so that you will have plenty of assistance. Try to get as much help as possible- it is better to have too much help than not enough!

3. Decide what to do with the parents

• Each girl is accompanied by a parent or chaperone. There will be parent workshops and tours that they may want to attend, but plan on having at least half as many parents as girls in each session of your workshop.
• In the past, a few parents have inhibited their girls' participation by telling them what to do or by doing the activity for them. This is rare, but you need to be aware of this problem and develop a few strategies for preventing the problem. Some possibilities are:
• Separate the parents from the girls at the beginning of the workshop and allow the girls to get started on their own. For instance, have your career person available to answer the parents' questions and talk to parents about careers in your field. When the parents return, the girls can show them what they have learned. The disadvantage to this approach is that some parents will not want to be separated from their girls and may complain.
• Provide a separate set-up for the parents so that they are occupied while the girls are doing activities on their own.
• Make it clear from the beginning that parents are welcome to watch from a little distance due to space limitation, safety considerations, etc.
• Above all, be courteous and diplomatic.

4. Find a suitable room or lab.

• Be sure to reserve sufficient space well in advance of the conference. The location will actually be needed for handouts in the middle of March.

5. Secure all necessary supplies and materials

• First, exhaust all opportunities for supplies within your own department or program. Ask professors and lab directors to donate materials, chemicals, photocopying, etc. Many departments are willing to donate supplies to programs like this.
• If you can not get the needed materials, contact the EYH chairs well in advance of the conference and we may be able to find assistance.

6. Think about safety!

• You will need to arrange for goggles, lab coats, gloves, fume hoods, etc. for the girls. Please try to be prepared for the worst and keep an eye on the girls.

7. Think about any other special needs that your girls will have.

• Will the girls need anything special? ie. Rubber boots, umbrellas, rain coats, a change of clothing, an extra pair of socks, etc. If your workshop is outside, you will need to consider this. Is there a bathroom available to them?

8. Remember your audience, 7th, 8th and 9th Grade Girls.

Expanding Your Horizons
Cornell University
eyh@ccmr.cornell.edu
607-255-9547