LAB GIRLS+
The LAB GIRLS talk trees with UNH Extension Forester Karen Bennett. (photo © Ben Conant)
LAB GIRLS+ is a Harris Center afterschool club designed to help middle school girls stay in love with science.
This club brings women mentors with careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) into the classroom to share their stories and their science. Each week, the LAB GIRLS meet a different role model and then have a chance to experiment with the tools of her trade. High school students with an interest in science help the middle school girls navigate the hands-on experiments.
Whether they’re designing weight-bearing furniture with architectural engineer Karen Fabianski or exploring chemistry and energy with biochemist Dr. Moira Milne, the LAB GIRLS are stretching their minds, cultivating their curiosity, and perhaps even beginning to envision a future for themselves in STEM…
If you’d like to be added to our LAB GIRLS email list, please contact Susie Spikol by email.
Students in the Harris Center’s afterschool “Yeti Club” practice fire building with naturalist John Benjamin. (photo © Ben Conant)
Other Afterschool Programs
We also partner with schools, parent-teacher organizations (PTOs), recreation departments, housing authorities, and public libraries on nature-focused afterschool programs for preschool, elementary, and middle school students.
Past topics have included winter birding, snowshoeing, map and compass skills, nature play, wilderness survival skills, storytelling, fairy and gnome homes, and even a performance of Dr. Seuss’s celebrated environmental fable, The Lorax.
Upcoming Programs
LAB GIRLS+ Experiments From the Wild & In the Field: Owl Prowl with a Raptor Biologist
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
If you like having hands-on experiences in nature, making discoveries, and studying animals, this club is for you! Join owl researcher and raptor biologist Julie Brown for this special chance to search for wild owls around the Harris Center grounds.
Learn more »Salamanders & Spring Frogs
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Join the Hooper Institute and the Harris Center to explore the wild world of amphibians, just as winter turns to spring. Perfect for families with elementary-aged children.
Learn more »LAB GIRLS+ Experiments From the Wild & In the Field: Wildlife Camera Trapping
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Join wildlife biologist and trail camera expert Jaime McGuigan to help set up camera trapping stations at the Harris Center and discover, through photos and videos captured after the program, which wild animals share our landscape. For middle schoolers and up.
Learn more »LAB GIRLS+ Experiments From the Wild & In the Field: Wildlife Painting
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Meet wildlife artist Rosemary Conroy for an afternoon of wildlife painting. See Rosemary’s art, hear her tips on painting wild animals, and practice your skills using the Harris Center’s taxidermied animals as models. For middle schoolers and up.
Learn more »LAB GIRLS+ Experiments From the Wild & In the Field: Salamander Coverboard Survey
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Join ecologist and salamander lover Brett Amy Thelen for a hands-on survey of red-backed salamanders and other amphibians at the Harris Center’s long-term monitoring plots.
Learn more »Contact Us
For more information on LAB GIRLS or to bring a Harris Center afterschool program to your neck of the woods, please contact Susie Spikol at (603) 525-3394 or by email.
