Beth Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                       
April 14, 1994
(Phone: 202/358-1760)


RELEASE: 94-60

100 GIRLS, AGES 9-15, TO JOIN NASA HQ WORKFORCE ON APRIL 28

 The nationwide "Take Our Daughters to Work" program, initiated 
last year by the Ms. Foundation for Women, is coming to NASA 
Headquarters on Thursday, April 28, bringing with it 100 girls 
ages 9-15.  The annual event is devoted to the ideas, problems, 
spirit and dreams of young girls.  The Headquarters program, 
sponsored by the Federal Women's Program and the Women's Advisory 
Council, will provide the opportunity for daughters of NASA 
employees to experience the space agency's Headquarters operations 
for a day.

 After a welcome from NASA's Chief Scientist, Dr. France Anne 
Cordova, the girls will view the film, "The Dream is Alive," and 
engage in dialogue with astronauts from the STS-60 SPACEHAB-2 
mission.  For the remainder of the morning, the girls will be 
paired with a mentor, a NASA employee who will go about her/his 
job activities, and the girls can see the kinds of duties NASA 
technical and non-technical staff are involved in every day.  
Wherever a mentor goes, whether to a program meeting or to meet 
with a NASA senior official, a girl will accompany, asking 
questions and learning more about a space-related career.  

 During the lunch break, a panel of D.C. Public School teachers 
will talk about the "Cultural Connection to Math, Science and 
Technology."  The afternoon will feature further dialogue with 
astronauts and demonstrations of robotic devices, including a Mars 
micro-soil sampler and a power ratchet tool like the one used on 
last December's Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.  Exhibits 
will be on display in the Headquarters lobby and the NASA 
Spacemobile will be present to provide additional "hands-on" 
exhibits.  


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