The Physics of Light and Food: Enabling a Physics Summer Camp for Middle School Girls

In the United States, only 20-22% of the STEM labor force are women. To help contribute to the pipeline of women STEM workers, the Philadelphia-based Physics Wonder Girls Camp aims to sustain girls’ interest in STEM during middle school years – which is when research shows girls are more likely to lose interest in science. The camp is free and has been featured on Philadelphia's ABC News and Fox News TV networks, the SPS Observer, and international science blogs. We discuss the mechanics of organizing the camp and its optics- and food processing-themed activities that included building telescopes, physics experiments, lab and industrial plant tours, and career talks by women scientists and engineers from private industry and academia. Experiments measured properties of light (reflection, refraction, polarization, diffraction) and real-world applications, thereof and food processing (phase transitions, thermodynamics), culminating in a Girls' Physics Presentation. We use blind surveys, letters and other feedback from the girls, parents and physics-major-crew to assess the camp's effectivity.