Selkirk College in Castlegar hosted the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST) Quantum Leap: Girls Talk Tech conference on Oct. 20.
The event was open to girls in grades 10-12 from throughout the West Kootenay, Central Kootenay, and Boundary area.
"This is a technology conference for young women - high school aged girls." said Kalvin Saldern of KAST. "We've brought them in from four different school districts. So there's girls from Creston, Grand Forks, all the way up to Nakusp and Kalso and of course Nelson, Trail, Castlegar, and Rossland."
The students learned how to fly in an aviation simulator, mix up a mirror from scratch in chemistry, build a digital map of our natural environment, and more as they mixed and mingled with young women already in their dream science and tech careers.
"We spend a ton of time trying to inspire passion for science and technology," said Saldern. "In this case, we're focusing solely on young women. These girls get to hear from women in the field about what drove them to technology; how they continue to advance their careers; and what their jobs are like today. These are the kinds of careers that girls don't hear about very often."