Girls in Science Campers Do the Data Crunch

Rising 8th grade girls discovered that there was greater insect biodiversity in their woods site than their field site.

A group of 24 girls visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park for Girls in Science Camp last week learned how they could take their insect data, gathered the day before, and use math to turn it into real results. Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director of Education, Outreach and Diversity and Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education and Outreach Coordinator, led the girls through an exercise in how to calculate Simpson’s Index of Biodiversity. The girls then applied it to their own data. Girls in Science Camp is organized and run by the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and NIMBioS is pleased to be involved there in research and education programs as a part of our partnership with the park.

This entry was posted in Education/Outreach, gender diversity and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.