Dream for the skies

Sally Ride may be best known as the first American woman to fly to outer space, but for four years she’s been keeping herself busy with the company she founded, Sally Ride Science.

The mission: to empower young girls to explore the world of science and to increase the number of girls who are technically literate and who have the foundation they need to go on in science, math or engineering.

Sally Ride Science carries out this mission with science camps, several of publications and science festivals throughout the country geared toward girls in fifth through eighth grade. UC Irvine hosted one of these festivals Sunday, and girls from all over Southern California attended to learn about the different elements of science and to hear Ride speak about her experiences in space exploration.

Though the disparity between the amount of men and women in science and engineering professions is getting smaller, the field is still mainly composed of men.

“I think they just tell girls it’s hard, and it’s not -- it’s easy if you’re good at it,” said Marge Johnstone, a retired chemist.

Johnstone was at Sunday’s festival with the San Diego chapter of the Assn. of Women in Science. The association had a booth where they taught the festival-goers about dominant and recessive genes using colored toothpicks and gummy bears.

“Our goal is to encourage young girls to get interested in science, to study it in school and pursue it as a career,” she said, adding that their mission falls right in line with that of Sally Ride Science.

Alicia Bicknell, co-chairwoman of the San Diego chapter, said her organization participates in the Sally Ride festivals to show girls how science can be fun.

“We’re all women, we’re in science, and we think it’s cool,” she said.

Other organizations with similar goals were represented at the event, such as the Girl Scouts and Girls Inc.

During her keynote address, Ride told the audience of about 950 how she started her career with NASA after seeing an ad in her school newspaper at Stanford.

The ad announced that NASA was looking for astronauts for the first time in 10 years, and it also read that it was accepting applications from women for the first time ever.

Ride was two months away from receiving her doctorate in astrophysics and decided to apply. She was one of 35 people selected out of 8,000 applicants, and only six women were accepted.

“I was always interested in science and math,” Ride said, encouraging all young girls in the audience to pursue their dreams. “When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of flying in space, and I still can’t believe it, but that dream came true.”

Ride shared with the audience several photos taken from outer space and answered questions about what it was like.

When one young lady asked what her favorite part of being in space was, Ride replied “Being weightless.” She went on to explain how in outer space, an astronaut can do 37 somersaults in a row if he or she wanted to.

“Of course, we would never do anything like that,” Ride joked. “We’re highly trained professionals.”

Another way Sally Ride Science encourages young people, especially girls, to get involved in science is with its annual toy challenge.

Teams of fifth- through eighth-graders get together and come up with a toy idea, think it through, describe it, draw it, and build a model or prototype.

The team must be at least half girls.

A member of last year’s winning team, 12-year-old Alyssa Hansen of Irvine, attended the festival as a member of the media.

Though she is quite skilled in science, Alyssa is also a writer and was chosen to interview Ride for a children’s science magazine.

“After being in the toy challenge ... I wanted to be a writer, but I also want to be a toy designer,” Alyssa said.

Her team won the 2005 toy challenge with the invention of Underwater Xtreme, a pool toy that uses lights and sounds to challenge swimmers’ senses.

Alyssa said she enjoyed the Sally Ride Science Festival because she got to conduct experiments and talk to girls who like science.

Ten-year-old Jocelyn Vennat of Irvine said she enjoyed learning about genetics at the festival and just might go on to study science.

“I think it’s fun,” she said.

For more, go to www.sallyridescience.com.20051114ipx4xsknKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Sally Ride signs autographs for girls during the Sally Ride Science Festival at UC Irvine on Sunday.20051114ipx4x5knKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Alissa Meagher, 13, uses special glasses to look at the sun during the Sally Ride Science Festival for fifth- through eighth-grade girls at UC Irvine on Sunday.