(Article from WTI eNews, April 2011)

Approximately one hundred Girl Scouts from Bozeman and surrounding communities visited MSU on Saturday, February 26 to explore engineering careers and activities. The event, sponsored by the Western Transportation Institute, was held to commemorate Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day during National Engineering Week. The girls (fourth through sixth graders) had the opportunity to interact with MSU engineering students during fifteen minute hands-on activities that introduced them to Civil, Electrical, Industrial, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering. During the two-hour event, the girls explored ergonomics, programmed robots, ate ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, designed the layout for an oil pipeline through tundra, and built soil retaining walls. They also completed a team problem-solving task. Engineering student chapter organizations hosted the activities representing the various engineering disciplines. WTI, the College of Engineering, and Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming jointly coordinated the event. Participants traveled from Bozeman, Pony, Livingston, Belgrade, Whitehall, Norris, and Harrison to attend the popular event.