Scouts experiment with engineering DATE: February 28, 2004 By Emily Huigens Independent-Mail CLEMSON — OK, sewing up the cow heart grossed her out just a little bit. But 12-year-old Girl Scout Kristin McMillin, got over the icky part and tackled the mock bypass surgery along with the rest of the day’s science and engineering activities. Kristin, who lives in Simpsonville, and a few dozen other scouts from around the Upstate participated in a day of fun at Clemson University devoted to getting girls excited about what they can do with math and science. Currently, women make up between 18 and 20 percent of engineering students at Clemson, professor John Kennedy, director of the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films. He said he isn’t sure what causes the gender gap, only that it’s to everyone’s advantage to try and attract more women to the field. "It’s a workforce issue," he said. "We need more engineers in this country." Mr. Kennedy led the final session of the day for the Scouts, an experiment related to friction that he said he hoped would convince the girls how important math is to science. He also let them know that it pays to be good at those subjects, literally. The starting salary for a mechanical engineer with a bachelor’s degree is around $50,000 right now. That works out to about five times minimum wage, he told them. And engineers who spend another couple years in school to earn a master’s degree can earn $1 million more in their lifetime than engineers with bachelor’s degrees, he said. Those figures, along with the unexpectedly fun parts of the day made girls like Alyssa Norton, a 12-year-old scout from Greenville, more receptive to thinking about working toward a career in science. "It sounds a lot more interesting after today," she said. "I didn’t know about the stuff like being an aerospace engineer, and I like space." Saturday’s event was part of National Engineers Week, during which engineering professionals from all over the country will reach out to girls. David Kalk Independent Mail Chelsea Dicey, left, and Alyssa Thoraton, center, watch a bridge made from Girl Scout Cookie boxes bend as Kristen McMillin adds nails in a bucket. The girls were testing to see how much weight their bridge could hold. They were taking part in the Women in Science and Engineering day camp held at Clemson University. Girl Scouts from all across the state came to take part in the activities.