A week-long Girls in Science Camp is being offered this summer for rising eighth grade girls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can't beat the price and applications for the residential program are now being accepted.

This is the second year for the program, which will run from June 21-26. It will be held at the park's environmental residential center, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, located near Townsend, Tennessee. The camp is for girls who will be entering the eighth grade this fall.

Park spokesperson Nancy Gray said the camp is made possible through a 3-year, $1,000,000 Science Education grant from Toyota to Friends of the Smokies, a non-profit organization that supports conservation, education, and other Park priorities. That grant makes it possible to offer the program for only $50, and you'd be hard-pressed to support a teenager for a week at home for that price! The camp is just one of the programs made possible through the grant.

What might participants expect?

According to Gray, "During the week, the girls will get up close and personal with the natural world working with National Park Service and Tremont staff as they join researchers in conducting hands-on science in the Park, studying hellbenders and other salamanders, the bounty of streams in the Smokies, and the unique high elevation forests."

“The Girls in Science Camp is a unique experience that will create memories that last a lifetime as girls get to know science in the Smokies,” said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. “It has been shown in studies that many girls start to lose their interest in science around the time they enter 8th grade. We feel this program will provide a positive outdoor experience learning about the Park’s natural resources during this one-week residential camp at Tremont.”

The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009, and serves nearly 6,000 students from 93 schools from 12 states each year through its residential environmental education programs. In addition to this grant-funded summer camp, Tremont is offering six other summer camp adventures this June and July for boys and girls ages 9-17.

Potential campers must fill out an application which is available on-line. All applications must be postmarked by March 19, 2010, and sent to: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, 9275 Tremont Rd., Townsend, TN 37882. You'll find additional information at the Tremont website, or you can call (865) 448-6709.