News Releases Scouts tote cookies for lessons By Jean Scott Anderson Independent-Mail 2/16/2002 CLEMSON - More than 40 Girl Scouts will tote their cookies to Clemson University today for some hands-on lessons aimed at selling them on science and engineering. Among other activities, the girls, ages 11 to 18, will use their famous sweets and the boxes they come in to build miniature railroad-style bridges as part of Clemson's "Introduce a Girl to Engineering and Science Day." Sponsors include the Girl Scouts of the Old 96 Council, Clemson's Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films, and the university's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, which coordinator Serita Acker said works to recruit and retain female students for the College of Engineering and Science. "The more young women see other role models, the more they will begin to choose engineering and science as a career path," Ms. Acker said. Karen Burg, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Clemson, said drawing women to those fields is important because of perspective. "It's good to have men and women working on problems that affect men and women," said Ms. Burg, who said she is fortunate to have entered the field considering her lack of exposure to it as a child. In addition to meeting leaders like Ms. Burg, the Girl Scouts will talk to female students from the College of Engineering and Science, where almost a quarter of the undergraduates are women. Penny Cooper, executive director of the Girl Scouts of the Old 96 Council, blames "academic stereotypes and lack of encouragement" for the disparity between girls and boys in science. "Through programs such as Clemson's engineering day, Girl Scouting exposes girls to a wide variety of experiences and career choices and opens new opportunities for girls in math and science," she said.