Pantex Engineers Host S'More Engineering

A group of young women engineers from Pantex spent their Saturday putting on an annual engineering workshop, known as S’More Engineering, for Amarillo-area Girl Scouts.

The engineers helped the Girl Scouts with several projects that illustrated engineering concepts, such as an egg drop that had the girls building a structure that would allow an egg to survive a one-story drop and an Angry Birds activity that saw them build catapults and other launching devices that re-created the popular mobile game.

The program started last year as a way to generate interest in engineering among young girls and encourage them to pursue careers in technical fields.

“It is very encouraging to see so many girls come out and take an active interest in engineering,” said Pantex process engineer Savannah Gates, who helped develop the Girl Scouts program. “These activities are so much fun, but they also teach important lessons that we hope will be valuable in their lives.”

B&W Pantex supports numerous activities throughout the year designed to encourage a love of science and math among area youths.

This year’s event continued the trend of increasing attendance, up by 50 percent over the last workshop, and interest by Girl Scouts, including several parents who participated in the event.

“It’s such a great opportunity for the girls to meet the Pantex engineers and work with them on these projects,” said Kathi Schutz, area director for the Girl Scouts of the Texas Oklahoma Plains. “They’re very hands on, and the girls see them as mentors that are taking an active interest in them.”