For immediate release: May 1, 2006

GALVESTON, Texas — Girls in grades six through eight are invited to enroll in the Expanding Your Horizons in Math, Science and Technology Conference scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6. The deadline to register is Wednesday, May 3. A registration fee of $5 covers lunch and materials.

Hosted by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, girls who attend will get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a medical researcher, a forensic scientist and other careers involving math and science.

The conference location is in the UTMB Allied Health Sciences and Nursing Building, 12th and Mechanic streets in Galveston. The conference, supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is open to girls in grades six through eight who attend public or private schools or who are home-schooled in Galveston, Texas City, La Marque, Hitchcock, Santa Fe, Dickinson and on the Bolivar Peninsula.

Participants must register online at www.utmb.edu/oeo/Student_Programs/Index.html. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available to pay the conference fee. To apply for the scholarships, students must fax a supporting letter from their teachers.

The conference is designed to stimulate the interest of girls toward pursuing careers in math and science. Workshops include: “ScienceCareers.com: Cool Jobs for Generation M,” “Wild Opportunities,” “Bubble, Bubble, Boil & Puzzle,” “Whodunit? Forensic Science and Crime Scene Investigation,” “TOE Steps Into Science,” “Get on the Good Foot,” “Space Rocks!” and “Snap Crackle and Pop.”

For more information, call the UTMB Office of Educational Outreach at (409) 772-7972 or 772-7970. To apply for scholarships, fax supporting letters to (409) 772-7980.

“The Expanding Your Horizons Conference is very often a life changing event for the girls who attend,” said Dr. Marguerite Sognier, UTMB educational outreach director and conference host. “It is a chance to find out what they can do and who they can be in the future.”

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
UTMB Media Hotline (409) 772-NEWS
John Koloen: (409) 772-8790 jskoloen@utmb.edu