PACER's "EX.I.T.E." Challenge
PACER needs your help to meet the challenge goal. Donate to the Charlson Foundation EX.I.T.E. Challenge!
"Attending this camp has assisted my daughter in many ways – it’s great that she feels a sense of belonging to a group of unique girls! She feels she belongs and that she can make friends."
- Parent
"I didn’t know that other people had ADHD and I didn’t think that I was smart. At camp, I met other people who had ADHD and made new friends that don’t think I’m weird."
- 2006 Camper
"The most surprising thing I learned at camp was that I can have a career in science and math."
- 2006 Camper
"The most surprising thing that I learned was that I am not the only girl in the world that has a disability."
EX.I.T.E.
STC - Navigation Menu
EX.I.T.E. Camp 2009 Photo Gallery
EXploring Interests in Technology and Engineering
During the camp, 30 middle school girls with disabilities enjoyed such hands-on activities, as making lip gloss, exploring acids and bases, tearing down a PC, making ice cream with liquid nitrogen, working with digital recording, and programming Lego robots.
For more information please contact the PACER Simon Technology Center at
stc@pacer.org or 952-838-9000.
Note: All pictures below can be clicked to view a larger image.
Opening Ceremony - August 6, 2009
Campers and their families learned more about the camp and met camp staff at the opening ceremony. A welcome presented by Paula Goldberg, PACER Center executive director, Rianne Leaf, PACER Director or Programs, Diane Ingersoll, IBM EX.I.T.E. coordinator, and Meghan Kunz, PACER EX.I.T.E. coordinator kicked off the ceremony and the excitement surrounding the week began to build.
Welcome Medtronic
Camp Day One - August 10, 2009
Anyone at EX.I.T.E. camp who considered science a dry topic was in for a squishy surprise on Aug. 10 when Medtronic volunteers took the stage. Amid squeals and giggles, girls got hands-on experience creating gooey, gushy polymers and sticky, squashy slime. Proving that science has both practical and beautiful relevance to teens, the girls created their own lip gloss. (Who knew Crisco, honey, and Kool-Aid had such potential!?) Medtronic volunteers also taught campers about microprocessors and emulsions, proving to 30 teens and tweens that science can be fun.
Welcome Accenture and Best Buy
Camp Day Two - August 12, 2009
All those cool videos on MTV had to start somewhere—why not EX.I.T.E. camp? Thanks to a team of creative, energetic volunteers from Accenture and Best Buy, 30 teens got a taste of what their favorite singers experience when creating a music video. After learning about storyboarding, design, and set management from the volunteers, the girls broke into small groups, created eye-catching costumes, selected a popular song, then took photos of their performance. Once the volunteers taught them how to use special editing software, the girls transformed their photos into short music videos. The “media” theme continued in the afternoon when KARE 11 meteorologist Belinda Jensen discussed the range of science careers—from astronomy to zoology—and inspired the girls to consider professions in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Welcome 3M
Camp Day Three - August 14, 2009
3M’s Visiting Wizards brought some wizard magic to camp – starting with the sorting house, where the girls were divided into two groups before creating magic rings and necklaces, rinky dinks, and gravity rings. Later, girls gained essential information for any budding wizard: how to create secret codes, make invisible ink, and turn British pence coins into gold sovereigns. After learning about the importance of water in the environment from the Science Museum of Minnesota, campers learned about fire and ice: flash paper drew excited “oohs,” and cryogenics resulted in instant ice cream and banana hammers.
Welcome IBM and Target
Camp Day Four – August 18, 2009
Why did Cinderella’s shoes fit only her? It all had to do with the biomechanics of her foot, as volunteers from IBM and Target explained. After hearing a brief history of shoes and a description of the scientific principles that go into creating them, campers used corrugated cardboard, glue, scissors, fabric, and sparkles to engineer Cinderella shoes of their own. Next, volunteers gave the girls an exciting introduction to marketing their new line of shoes. The girls researched ads online, then made posters advertising the features and selling points of their own creations. In the afternoon, Underwater Adventures gave the campers an introduction to aquatic animals and habitats and offered an opportunity to touch a shark!
Tour of IBM and Closing Ceremony
Camp Day Five - August 20, 2009
The last day of camp the campers took a much-anticipated field trip to IBM’s Rochester plant to experience science in action—from seeing computers being built, to taking laptops apart, to building robots from Legos. Meeting women scientists who have disabilities and talking with executives about careers in science and technology made the day special and inspired 30 girls to see possibilities for themselves and think about their future in a new way. This exciting day came to a close with a closing ceremony celebration at PACER Center. Campers had the opportunity to share highlights from camp with their families and friends.
PACER's site offers many PDF files for download, which require