The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop a comprehensive after-school program that be an extension of its "RiverGirls" four- week ecology-based summer camp. The ASSETS Project will enable 24 to 48 of the girls who participated in the RiverGirls Camp to engage in two, twelve-week after school program sequences that will provide them with in-depth science contact, multiple experiences with technology and tools, and opportunities to develop more positive relationships with peers and role models who reflect their own cultural identities. A special focus of the project includes incorporating participants' parents in an active and fundamental way in their daughters; educational experience at the museum. This involvement is designed to help parents provide increased support to their daughters' in science and math education. The girls who complete the ASSETS Project will be recruited into other science and math enrichment programs for youth at the museum. Overall project and program design will be based on recent resiliency research that has shown youth from any background who grow up with a key combination of assets, including personal qualities, a supportive environment, and acquired skills, will have a better chance to make the transition to successful and productive adulthood.
