ERIE, Pa. — Students in the Wabtec Girls camp at Penn State Behrend learn through trial-and-error. They build miniature homesteads, and then flood them. That shows erosion at work.

They program pocket-sized Ozobot robots, which motor across — and sometimes off — grids of paper.

Approximately 50 middle-schoolers attended this year’s camp, a weeklong program that focused on careers in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Each day featured workshops led by Behrend faculty members and volunteers from Wabtec.

“We’re trying to encourage these young women to stay in math and science courses as they get to high school,” said Melanie Ford, director of Youth Education Outreach at Behrend. “We show them all the careers that are available and open to them.”

Wabtec is a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail sectors, and for the mining, marine and industrial markets. The company was Penn State’s 2023 Corporate Partner of the Year.

At Behrend, the pilot site for the Wabtec Girls camp, which is now offered across the country, the company supports engineering design coursework and is a partner on Project RESOLVE, an initiative that works to accelerate the adoption of more sustainable models and methods in regional manufacturing.