The Artemis Project is a five-week summer program that will introduce the girls to the creative thinking and problem-solving skills that are at the core of computer science. Artemis will be held from July 1st to August 2nd on weekdays from 9AM to 3PM in the BU Photonics Center.
The Artemis Project is unique among science and outreach programs in several ways:
First, Artemis targets girls just as they are about to enter high school — at a critical stage when girls begin to lose confidence and the disparity between males and females in the sciences becomes most pronounced. The program aims to cultivate both ability and confidence within these young women so that they are encouraged to pursue computer, engineering and IT fields.
Second, Artemis is staffed entirely by undergraduate women concentrating in Computer Science and Engineering who are passionate about what they do. Through interactions with the coordinators, as well as with faculty and industry guest speakers, the participants will meet many female role models in the fields of computer science and engineering. In addition, the girls will go on an educational or team-building field trip every week, to such venues as IBM, Google, Microsoft, the Broad Institute, and the MIT Robotics Workshop.
Third, Artemis does not charge tuition. However, students accepted into the program will be required to pay a $100 non-refundable registration fee. All program expenses, including supplies, lunch, transportation (for field trips), and admission fees are covered for the entire five weeks.
Artemis makes fundamental topics in computer science fun and engaging by incorporating both hands-on activities as well as real-world applications. Participants will learn how to design their own websites, build and program robots, create games with software, as well as conceptual topics including search and sort algorithms, cryptography, and artificial intelligence.
The program is administered by the Learning Resource Network (LERNet), a BU center with a long history of coordinating science and engineering programs for K-12 students. Additional program information can be found on the website: http://www.bu.edu/lernet/artemis.
