Camp Information

 

Girls Talk Math is a FREE two-week day camp hosted on WPI campus. Camp is for rising 9th to 12th grade students interested in STEM who are excited to explore challenging problems that go beyond the high school curriculum. While students of any gender are welcome to apply, the program is designed with girls in mind and strives to create a welcoming environment for all. Lunch and snacks will be provided, and a $250 stipend will be paid to each camper at the successful completion of the program.

In 2025 Girls Talk Math at WPI will take place July 7th-18th, Monday to Friday, 9AM to 4PM.
Preview Girl working out math problem at the board

Group Projects

Campers will divide into groups of four or five to complete several projects throughout the two camp weeks. Each group will:

  1. Work independently through a problem set on an advanced STEM topic usually not encountered until college or even graduate school.
  2. Prepare and deliver a presentation about the topic learned in the problem set. Read blog posts from past Girls Talk Math campers.
  3. Research the life and work of a scientist from a marginalized group whose scientific contributions are related to the problem set topic.
  4. Write and record a podcast about the scientist’s life and work. Listen to the Girls Talk Math podcasts on SoundCloud or iTunes.

Camp Structure and Activities

Girls Talk Math is a day camp running for two consecutive weeks, Monday to Friday, 9AM to 4PM.

There will be time for group work every day with several other activities interspersed throughout the two weeks. These activities include short lectures on the topics campers are studying, panels with STEM professionals, and several hands-on workshops, including “How to Make a Podcast,” “Introduction to Scratch,” and “How to Get into College.”

Preview WPI'22 Girls Talk Math students solving problems as a team

Typical Camp Day

A typical day at camp is divided into four group project time-blocks, with two short breaks and a longer lunch break. All camp activities will be on WPI campus: group project time-blocks will be in classrooms and activity rooms, short breaks will be outside (weather permitting), and lunch will be in the Morgan Dining Hall. Pre- and post-camp care are available upon request.

Typical camp day schedule

9:00AM - 10:20AM – Welcome and work on group projects

10:20AM - 10:40AM –  Snack break

10:40AM - 12:00PM – Morning activity (see examples above)

12:00PM - 1:00PM – Lunch in the Morgan Dining Hall

1:00PM - 2:20PM – Work on group projects

2:20PM - 2:40PM – Short break

2:40PM - 4:00PM – Afternoon activity (see examples above)

Girls Talk Math was founded in 2016 by Professors Francesca Bernardi and Katrina Morgan when they were PhD students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Girls Talk Math has been offered at the following US campuses: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (founding chapter, 2016-2023), the University of Maryland College Park (sister chapter, since 2018), Wake Forest University (sister chapter, since 2024), and at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (sister chapter, since 2022). Learn more at https://girlstalkmath.com.

Girls Talk Math is funded by the American Mathematical Society Epsilon Fund through their AMS Young Scholars Program and the Women's Impact Network (WIN).

This program welcomes all participants regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status. In particular, we encourage individuals, regardless of gender, gender expression, gender identity, and sex, to participate in this program.