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High tech summer camp for teen girls; Tech Trek inspires young girls for high tech careers

Posted at 4:25 PM, Jun 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-21 04:49:38-04

Twins Bridget and Tess Aman are building a robot. The 13-year-olds love learning how things work.  

"I'm really interested in math and science you know, but a little more interested in the communications but it doesn't mean I can't incorporate math and science," Bridget said.

"It's been really exciting and I love math and I love science and the other people who share the feeling about, I guess to talk more about it," added Tess.

The 7th-grade girls are in a summer camp which encourages them to become future engineers and scientists.

The American Associaton of University Womenhosts the camps across the country.

"Even though we think we are equal, we don't have equal pay yet, and we also don't have equal numbers in those same sciences," assistant summer camp director Helen Zientek said.

They're trying to bridge the gender gap with middle-school students attending the camp by boosting their confidence.

"When they get into middle school, their bodies are in motion and they change and hormones start to kick in and many of them start to say, 'I'm not smart as the boys,' " Zientek said.

According to the organization's recent survey, 82 percent of the girls in the Tech Trek summer camp eventually choose a science class in high school. Even colleges are stepping in by providing a place for the summer camps.

"We also wanted to make sure that young girls understood what engineering is all about because there is a misconception that engineering is about changing the oil in your car. and not as you can see working with robots or working with chemistry or physics," Ebony Tanner with Palm Beach State College said.