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Alcoa Foundation helps launch Girls Math and Science Partnership program with PNC Park kickoff
Have you ever wondered how a curveball curves? Or what propels a roller coaster to speeds of up to 85 mph? The answers to these and many other everyday science and math questions can be found on the Jumbotron scoreboard at Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, on signage at Kennywood amusement park, and soon, in other parks and playgrounds around Pittsburgh, thanks to an Alcoa Foundation grant initiative.
Known as the Girls Math and Science Partnership, the program targets middle-school girls and students of color, including African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, to connect them with science and math in a way that is accessible and even entertaining. With characters such as ‘Curveball Kitty,’ the program animates highly complex mathematical and scientific concepts and presents them in 30-second soundbites and 12-inch signs, to ‘catch’ kids while they’re having fun.
“We know that middle school is a pivotal time for our students-it’s where they decide if math and science are for them or someone else,” said Kathy Buechel, president of Alcoa Foundation. “Keeping math and science alive for them at this age can open many career possibilities later on.”
The project is a partnership of Family Communications, Inc. (producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood), the Heinz Endowments, Alcoa Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. The signs and videos were created by design seminar students from both universities. The special videos were launched May 13 at PNC Park before the Pittsburgh Pirates/Houston Astros game and will run throughout the season during pre-game warm-ups on the Jumbotron
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