Sweet Briar EXPLORE weekends let high school girls try arts, sciences and more

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Amy Ostroth


Environmental science students in forest Explore Environmental Science students investigate Sweet Briar’s forests in spring 2017.


EXPLORE weekends at Sweet Briar offer sophomore, junior and senior high school girls opportunities to investigate different fields of study in a small group setting while working closely with Sweet Briar’s outstanding faculty and students.

This spring, the College is offering weekend experiences in the arts (March 23-24), chemistry (April 6-7), history (April 6-7) and environmental science (April 20-21), in addition to its traditional engineering weekend (March 30-31) and a combined engineering and computer science weekend (April 13-14).

Participants in each event will work in teams with Sweet Briar faculty and students on creative and fun projects all day Saturday. They’ll share the results of their work with family and friends at a culminating exhibition on Saturday evening. To get a taste of what life at Sweet Briar is like, they stay overnight with a student mentor in one of Sweet Briar’s historic residence halls. Each weekend also includes an optional campus tour before the program gets underway.

“Sweet Briar faculty are practicing artists, writers, historians and scientists. For high school girls who are trying to figure out what excites them intellectually, EXPLORE events are a great chance not only to learn new things and work with amazing faculty, but also to sample the college experience as they begin to look to their future,” says chemistry instructor and lab manager Pam Simpson, who coordinates the history, arts and chemistry EXPLORE events.


Explore Environmental Science weekend 2017 Linda Fink Prof. Linda Fink with two students during the Spring 2017 Explore Environmental Science Weekend


The cost for Explore the Arts, Explore Chemistry and Explore History is $90 for the weekend. Explore Engineering, Explore Engineering and Computer Science and Explore Environmental Science weekends are $65. The cost covers room, board, snacks and supplies, as well as a T-shirt. Participants are encouraged to register soon, as space for each of the events is limited.

No prior experience or knowledge is required for any of the EXPLORE events. To learn more, visit sbc.edu/explore. You may also contact Rebecca Girten at 434-381-6447 or rgirten@sbc.edu about engineering, computer science and environmental science events. For more information about the history, arts and chemistry events, please contact Simpson at 434-381-6443 or psimpson@sbc.edu.