OSA News

OSA Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA Announce Partnership

August 29, 2005 (Washington, DC)-- The OSA Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of the Optical Society of America, has entered into a partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) to collaborate in educating middle and high school aged girls about optics and photonics. This partnership will further the OSA Foundation mission of advancing youth education and support the GSUSA efforts to engage young girls in science and math. Both organizations are working on program development and activities to be formally launched in five select markets in 2006.

To spark interest and encourage the understanding of the science of light, the Foundation and GSUSA will produce an activity book, similar to an educational workbook, called a Studio 2B Focus Book. It will contain activities, experiments, articles, career profiles, trivia, and other pieces of information for Girl Scouts to learn about in order to earn their optics charm (similar to a merit badge) for her charm bracelet. The look and feel of the charm itself is currently in development.

“The OSA Foundation has been looking for a broad-reaching program to make a major impact on youth science education. It has also been a prime focus of OSA's to encourage young women to stay interested in science in this pivotal time,” said Gary Bjorklund, chair of the Foundation Board. “The Girl Scouts were a natural fit for us to address these objectives.”

One key initiative for GSUSA and the OSA Foundation is to support young women in math and science. According to GSUSA, despite their success in diverse areas, studies show that fewer women than men choose occupations in the realms of technology, math and science. Although boys and girls show equal amounts of interest in these subjects when they're young, many girls start to lose interest in math and science in middle school years. The GSUSA and Foundation partnership is in a unique position to help change this pattern.

“Engaging girls in science at an early age is absolutely critical to allowing them to reach their full potential” said Monica Shah, Manager of Science and Technology, GSUSA. “Without education in this area, doors close for them before they even realize what has happened. We want to make sure that young women have every opportunity in the future and are able to consider every possible career available to them. The OSA Foundation brought us a proposal that will help us to do this in an exciting way for the girls. We're enthusiastic about the new ideas and opportunities this program will spark in the minds of Girl Scouts.”

About OSA Foundation
The OSA Foundation was established in 2002 to support philanthropic activities that help further the Optical Society of America's mission by concentrating its efforts on programs that advance youth science education, support optics and photonics in developing countries and provide education and resources to underserved populations. The Foundation is exempt from US federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is a public charity. To learn more about the OSA Foundation or to find out how to donate and make programs such as the Girl Scouts initiative possible, please visit www.osa-foundation.org or email foundation@osa.org.

Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent organization for and leading authority on girls, with nearly 3 million girl and adult members. Now in its 93rd year, Girl Scouting cultivates character, confidence, and social conscience in girls while teaching them the critical life skills to succeed as adults. In Girl Scouting, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. The organization strives to serve girls from every corner of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. For more information on how to join, volunteer, or donate to the Girl Scouts visit www.girlscouts.org.

About OSA
The Optical Society of America (OSA) brings together an international network of the industry's preeminent optics and photonics scientists, engineers, educators, technicians and business leaders. Representing more than 15,000 members from approximately 100 different countries, OSA promotes the worldwide generation, application and dissemination of optics and photonics knowledge through its meetings, events and journals. Since its founding in 1916, OSA member benefits, programming, publications, products and services have set the industry's standard of excellence. Additional information on OSA is available on the Society's Web site at www.osa.org. OSA is proud to be a part of the World Year of Physics, a celebration of physics and the 100th anniversary of some of Einstein's greatest achievements. Optics is the branch of physics that studies the properties of light. For additional information on World Year of Physics, visit www.physics2005.org.

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