Photos by Joselyn King Young Women from the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s “Launch” science, technology, engineering and math camp for girls and the YWCA Wheeling STEMpowerment Academy visit Touchstone Research Laboratory Wednesday.

WHEELING Young girls from Wheeling and Western Pennsylvania got a chance to see ideas, science and innovation come together during a tour of Touchstone Research Laboratory on Wednesday.

Students from the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s “Launch” science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camp for girls, and the YWCA Wheeling STEMpowerment Academy took in information about developments happening at Touchstone, and engaged in discussion about the products developed there — C-Foam, a multi-purpose building material from coal waste; MetPreg, billed as “the world’s strongest aluminum;” and Veloxint, metals made from nanocrystalline alloys.

The girls with the YWCA Wheeling STEMpowerment Academy are in grades 7-10, and come from Ohio, Wetzel, Brooke and Hancock counties.

They have been staying this week in the dormitories at The Linsly School.

“We are trying to teach women support, leadership, interest in STEM, and all kinds of science stuff,” said Lori Jones, executive director of the YWCA Wheeling.

On the first day of camp, the girls learned about medical and food science. They learned science principles to help them create both their own makeup and a lava cake to eat, Jones noted.

“A lot of the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulations are the same for both because you ‘eat’ your makeup,” she continued.

There were also discussions about cybersecurity and how to market a company, a visit to Kalkreuth East Coast metals to watch manufacturing, and a trip to WVU Medicine-Wheeling Hospital for a look at medical technology. Following the visit to Touchstone on Wednesday, the girls were going to an experience at the Challenger Center at Wheeling University.

Girls from the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s “Launch” camp are in 11th and 12th grades, according to Rafalene Costanza, director of the council’s “Workforce of the Future” program.

The students come from Allegheny County and 13 other counties in the Pittsburgh area for the four-week program that ends July 31.

“We showcase a variety of different careers for these girls in hopes they will become women in STEM in the workforce,” Costanza said. “This week we are focusing on engineering and anything related.”

While the camp generally stays in Pittsburgh, an exception was made Wednesday to bring the girls to Touchstone and Ohio County.

“I just hope they have a love for science, technology and engineering,” said Brian Joseph, president and CEO of Touchstone. “You know I do. I hope they learn a love for it.”