LILLINGTON - The Central Carolina Community College Engineering Department is sponsoring a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workshop for girls in grades 6-9. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at the CCCC Harnett Main Campus in Lillington.

The workshop, "Tech like a Girl," is also sponsored by LASER-TEC and the CCCC Laser Club SPIE/OSA Student Chapter.

Participants will be introduced to "Spectroscopy," a scientific tool used in many different real-world applications to distinguish one material from another material, or to determine the make-up of a substance. Applications such as "detecting poisonous gasses" or "early detection of cancer cells" are being made possible through "Spectroscopy." A new, just released, Ocean Optics Spectroscopy Educational Kit, with detailed experiments, developed by Ocean Optics Lead Application Scientist Dr. Yvette Mattley, will be used by camp participants. Dr. Mattley will visit from Orlando, Fla., to assist with the workshop.

Cost of the workshop is $25, with lunch and snacks provided. The workshop is limited to 15 participants. Parents are welcome to stay and watch the workshop.

To register, contact Gary Beasley, Lead Instructor - Laser & Photonics Technology, at 910-814-8828 or by email at gbeasley@cccc.edu.

Constance Boahn is CCCC Department Chair, Engineering and Computer Information Technologies.

For more information on Central Carolina Community College, visit the college website at www.cccc.edu.