About the 2/26 sessions: The post office has been slow delivering registration forms (we're still receiving some postmarked last week) so even if you have not heard from us confirming your registration, please come anyway on Sunday. We will have parents sign registration forms at the sessions if we haven't already received them. about the program (spring 2006) The Ready Set Design! program provides introductory engineering experiences for middle school girls in the Baltimore area, through half-day weekend programs on the Johns Hopkins University campus. The program is organized by the Johns Hopkins student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Financial support for this program is provided by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association, and the National Science Foundation. Our activities this spring, on February 26 (Sunday) and April 29 (Saturday), will cover two subjects. In our February 26 sessions, we will introduce participating students to the ways that engineers help people with injuries or disabilities, while on April 29, the students will learn how engineers contribute to improving the quality of the environment. In each session, the girls will first learn about the engineering design process and about the theme of that session's activities. Then, the students will split into groups to work on the group design projects. Each group will design a device to perform a specific task related to the theme of the session. Creativity is encouraged - every idea is worth exploring! Girls will also have the opportunity to interact with Johns Hopkins engineering students, as well as to meet local women who have found success and fulfillment in exciting engineering careers. Additional information about the program, and a sign-up sheet, can be found here. Photos from our prior events will be posted soon! You can also look at the article about us that appeared in the Baltimore Sun last December (the article is copyrighted by the Sun). schedule of events Our sessions for Spring 2006 are scheduled for Sunday, February 26 (topic: Engineering help for injuries & disabilities), and Saturday, April 29 (topic: Engineering and the environment). On each date, the morning session will run from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and the afternoon session from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Girls are welcome to attend a session on one or both days. Parents: You do not need to stay for the full sessions, but you are welcome to join us for last half-hour, when the girls will give short presentations describing their design projects. See below for parking instructions. directions and parking All sessions this spring will be held in the Great Hall on the main floor of Levering Hall on the JHU campus. On this map of the JHU campus in Homewood, Levering Hall is number 4, just above and to the left of center. Drop-offs and pick-ups are possible behind Levering Hall, which can be accessed using the West Gate on San Martin Drive. Due to ongoing construction, parking is spread out around campus. On Saturdays, it may be possible to find spaces in areas 63 or 65 near Levering Hall, or area 61 near Hodson Hall (number 1 on the map), all of which can be accessed through the West Gate. If there are no available spaces in those areas, you will definitely find space in lot 60, on Wyman Park Drive to the upper left on the map. The walk from lot 60 to Levering Hall will take up to ten minutes. (For more specific driving directions to the JHU Homewood campus: click here.) contact us For general questions about the program, please contact Emily Kumpel, at ekumpel(at)jhu.edu. If you're a JHU student who'd like to volunteer, contact Olivia Mao at olivia.mao(at)gmail.com. page updated 13 February 2006