About the Conference
Seattle Expanding Your Horizons (SEYH) is a hands-on conference that encourages girls to explore the world of math, science and technology. Women biologists, botanists, engineers, veterinarians, and many other local professional women enthusiastically volunteer their time to host workshops that introduce girls to exciting careers involving math, science and computer technology.
Learning by Doing
All girls at the conference attend three specially-designed workshops, and participate in challenging activities in each. Examples include:
- Completing a veterinary exam
- Assembling a robot
- Cleaning polluted water
- Designing an aircraft
- Building a cast for a "broken" arm
- Making "gak"
- Dispensing a prescription
But it's more than just learning
It's about making new friends. And collaborating with other girls. And it's about having fun!
All girls are energized with healthy snacks during the day, and are guests of a pizza lunch to celebrate their hard work at the end of the conference. They take home a "conference bag" filled with interesting information and products just for girls. Finally, they're entered in an end of conference raffle to win special prizes. It's a memorable day!
How to Participate in Seattle Expanding Your Horizons
The conference fills quickly, so register early! Brochures and registration forms will be distributed through local school offices, youth organizations, community centers, and our Web site. The cost is $15 per student.
History
Seattle Expanding Your Horizons (SEYH) is a hands-on conference that encourages girls in 6th – 8th grades to explore math and science related occupations. The next SEYH conference is scheduled for March 14, 2009 at Seattle University.
In 1988, the Seattle Branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) joined with Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) to co sponsor the SEYH Conference, the first math and science conference for middle-school girls in Seattle. Attendance for the first conference was 56 and just four years later had increased to 352, outgrowing the SCCC campus. Because of the rapidly increasing attendance, the conference was moved to Seattle University, where more space was available.
In 1997, “Science and Math at the Right Time for Girls” (SMARTgirls) was formed under the auspices of Seattle AAUW. SMARTgirls supported the SEYH conference for several years by providing long-range planning and fund-raising. In 2007, Seattle University’s College of Science & Engineering became the official sponsor of SEYH.