West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) Center for the Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CASTEM) will hold a Rocket Girls day camp on the University’s Institute campus July 29 through August 2.

The free day camp targets girls ages 12 to 17 with hands-on instruction and information geared toward increasing girls’ exploration of science careers.

“Studies have shown that women tend to leave math-heavy STEM fields much faster than their male counterparts,” said WVSU STEM Educator Emma Gardner, who will lead camp sessions. “The young ladies participating in Rocket Girls will have to opportunity engineer and launch their own model rockets.”

The camp’s curriculum was created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and will allow girls to learn the math and science behind rocketry while participating in hands-on science experiments.

The camp will take place at WVSU’s Aerospace Education Laboratory from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Space is limited, and registration is required. Registration, as well as information about WVSU’s additional summer offerings, is available online at wvstateu.edu/summer.