The third-annual Women in Science Day took place Thursday, Oct. 8. This special event was for girls in both 7th and 8th grade from Topeka and surrounding communities. The schools that participated were Robinson, Washburn Rural, Shawnee Heights, Jackson Heights (Holton), and Southwest Junior High (Lawrence).

There were approximately 225 students that attended Women in Science Day. Each participant received a free T-shirt, water bottle and a folder that contained information about the event along with a raffle ticket that gave students a chance to win some door prizes. There was also a contest form to help design a new logo for next year’s Women in Science Day.

Linda Garinger, from the US Geologic Survey, had this to say about this fun event, “This is USGS’s first year to be involved in this event, and we’re happy to be involved.”

Kris Craven, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, added, “Women in Science Day is an event that can help students stay interested in sciences, and get them ready for college.”

The morning started with a welcome to Washburn by President Farley, and Susan Miller, President of the Zonta Club, one of 11 sponsors for the event. Then the students heard from keynote speaker Julie Adolphson, the Meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service for the Kansas City/Pleasant Hill Missouri area. She got to chase an F-5 tornado with the team that the movie “Twister” was portraying. She was excited to share fun stories and sparked the students’ interests in both science and math. The students got to participate in two of 15 labs spread throughout campus. They ranged from electricity and magnets to volcanoes. The original idea for the Women in Science Day came from Aberdeen, South Dakota.