This award-winning program, dedicated to supporting women interested in studying math, science, engineering and technology since 1986 is now also gaining recognition for giving 4th grade students from New Brunswick public schools a leg up in the sciences.  Students participating in this outreach program find out early on how exciting science can be by trying it out in a full-fledged college lab at Rutgers.  The project enlists undergraduates from Douglass to assist the children as they work their way through 12 specific stations which encapsulate any number of fun, hands-on science experiments.  While most of the undergraduates who volunteer are science majors, many are interested in education and this program provides a wonderful opportunity for the volunteers to engage in a "teaching" experience.

The main objective of their work is to give these kids an experience "on campus" and to acclimate them with the environment of studying the sciences.  The students wear lab coats, are given lab notebooks and are encouraged to take part in the projects in their own way -- teachers and aids are only there to facilitate.  The program reaches even further, with bilingual undergraduates working with two Spanish-speaking classes.

With the initial funding for the project coming from a donation from Johnson and Johnson, it stands to reason that the focus of these experiments is the human body, and the students take part in the discovery of how we all work.  It’s a truly inspirational program, and it isn’t just the students getting something out of it.  As noted by Regina Riccioni, Assistant Dean and Director of the Douglass Project, everyone working with the students has a truly memorable experience.

Learn more about the other major elements of the Douglass Project:

The Douglass Science Institute, a four-year intensive summer program; this competitive application-based program provides students the opportunity to take part in experimentation that they would never get to attempt in their respective high schools.  As well as being an incredibly effective learning tool, the project also serves as a powerful networking system for these students.  The bonds they make over their summer programs can serve them well in the future, creating a network of female scientists who can help nourish a new generation of women interested in science.

The Douglass Science Weekend Academy: a slightly less intensive program for female high school students, it runs over the course of three consecutive Saturdays where the students come on campus and have the same hands on experience.  These programs emphasize the applied sciences that don't get the same play in high school.

The Douglass Science Career Exploration Day: this program helps female students understand the life of a scientist with panels on balancing careers in the sciences and family. Ms. Riccioni describes this sharing as "frank talk about planning for the future." These programs are run with small groups of high school students talking to the undergrads and grad students who have experience and are willing to share it.  They discuss how to balance family and work and how to avoid the pitfalls.

Project SUPER:  An enrichment program for undergraduate women interested in pursuing the sciences, technology, engineering and math fields, the program provides peer and faculty mentoring, an undergraduate credit-bearing course, Introduction to Scientific Research and undergraduate research experiences in the S.T.E.M. fields.  Project SUPER students have the opportunity to meet with mentors, attend professional development programs, develop their research skills and participate in paid research internships.

Most of the Douglass Project programs enjoy the benefit of participants residing at Bunting-Cobb Residence Hall, a dedicated residence hall for undergraduate women majoring in math, science, and engineering with graduate students in various relevant disciplines.  The graduate students provide support to undergraduates by coordinating academic-related programs, organizing peer study sessions and in-house tutoring, mentoring students with similar academic interests, and helping students to reach their academic goals.  Bunting-Cobb also houses its own in-house science library and its own computer facility, which provides Internet access & is connected directly into the Rutgers University Network.
 
Visit the Douglass Project website to find out even more.