On July 11, Microsoft New England welcomed BU’s Artemis Project to our Technology Center and New England Research & Development (NERD) Center. The Artemis Project is a five-week summer program that introduces rising ninth grade girls to computer science, directed by undergraduate women at BU.
We’re always pumped to get kids excited about technology—and these kinds of hands-on experiences are what STEM education’s all about. You know, ditch the textbooks for a walk-through exploration of real-life researchers and their cool creations: from capturing the world in 3-D with Photosynth, to Bing Health & Fitness apps to playing and drawing on giant Surface boards with Surface Pens.
We got the chance to chat with two of the girls: soon-to-be ninth graders Victoria Shen and Madaleine Cutone, who’ll be attending Quincy High School and Newton North High School (respectively) this fall. Here’s what the girls had to say about their visit to Microsoft:
Microsoft New England: Why did you join The Artemis Project?
Victoria: I have always been interested in working with computers, and when my science teacher recommended me to join this program, I jumped at that opportunity to expand my knowledge about computers.
Madaleine: I wanted to learn about different types of Technology and Engineering fields to prepare me for college at first, but I had also realized that I had had a lot of success in my Tech Ed. and science classes at school. I decided to expand on that success and look further into the engineering and technology fields.
MSNE: What was your favorite thing about your visit to Microsoft New England?
V: My favorite part of my visit to Microsoft New England was getting the tour of the Exploratorium and getting to try out some of the things. The robot that takes your picture is so cool!!!
M: My personal favorite thing to do there was to play around on all of the different devices. I enjoyed getting to explore the way that Microsoft’s devices were programmed and put together.
MSNE: What was your favorite piece of technology that you used?
V: The Surface. It’s so cool that it’s a device that can easily change into a tablet or a laptop!
M: Cortana, the voice control option on many of Microsoft’s devices. It was interesting to me that Cortana didn’t obligate the user to say specific facts about the piece of information that they wanted to acquire.
MSNE: What do you want to be when you grow up?
V: I used to want to be a teacher, but now thanks to the Artemis Project, I think I want to be an IT Specialist.
M: I want to be a computer scientist when I grow up, but I think I would also enjoy working in the biomedical field.