How do you create a hydraulic arm with just water, a syringe and some cardboard?

Just ask the young students who took part in Go ENG Girl at U of T Engineering last month.

More than 100 girls from grades 7 to 10 visited the Engineering Complex with their parents to learn what it takes to pursue engineering at the post-secondary level.

Go ENG Girl events were held across the province at 15 universities. The Engineering Student Outreach office hosted the U of T Engineering session.

Each year, Go ENG Girl  –  organized in partnership with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) – aims to inspire girls, through hands-on activities, to explore engineering; a profession that is so much more than just technology or machinery, as the girls and their parents learned that day.

“Engineering is about making a difference in the world, such as designing safer buildings as a civil engineer,” said Teresa Nguyen (CivE 1T4), answering questions from parents during a panel discussion.

As the all-female panel of current students and alumni offered parents guidance, the girls were off working in groups to create an hydraulic arm using just a few pieces of simple equipment.

With mentoring from U of T Engineering students, the girls presented their innovative designs, which even impressed their instructors.

“I was impressed by their creativity during the hands-on activity,” said Go ENG Girl instructor Yi Li (ElecE 1T4). “Some girls even asked me about how to apply to U of T Engineering. Someone mentioned genetic engineering which took me by surprise, but in a good way.”