STEM Minute | Fly Girls Food Chemistry STEAM Camp

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - As a kid, you're usually taught not to play with your food.

However, at Fly Girls Food Chemistry STEAM Camp, that is the whole purpose.

"I don't believe that our students understand what opportunities exist in science," said Rida Ellis, the principal of Ellsworth Dansby Jr. Magnet School. "They're kind of being tricked in a sense through food right now because they love to eat, so we use that to our advantage. So we are wanting to expose them so maybe they go into that field."

The camp was a partnership with Millikin University and the new DPS magnet school, Ellsworth Dansby Jr. Magnet School. Fifth through eighth-grade girls were invited to participate to learn more about how chemistry is used to preserve and serve foods.

"We used chemicals and switched the colors by just mixing different chemicals with water," said Ju'Lacia Rowls, an eighth grader. "I've learned how to make yellow, pink, blue, dark green, and we are also learning how to make colors with beets."

Instructors explained to the girls how food scientists can manipulate flavors and colors with new ingredients or chemical reactions. The girls learned how to track ingredients, formulas, and procedures in their notebooks so they could duplicate the experiments themselves.

"We were able to see what would happen when we added peroxide, and the entire thing would bubble up," said Janila White, an eighth grader.

The camp was designed so girls could see other women working in the STEM industry and learn about potential careers.

Anne Rodriguez, an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Millikin University, helped with the camp. She said when she joined the field, less than 30% of chemists were female.

"STEM is an area where there's not as much diversity as we would like to see," said Rodriguez. "So we're working on all kinds of fronts to improve people seeing themselves as scientists."

Ellsworth Dansby Jr. Magnet School is a new Decatur Public School focused on STEAM education. Ellis said they hope to continue partnerships like the Fly Girls Food Chemistry Camp to expose students to potential future careers.