Some 70 elementary school girls learned that using Vaseline and Kool Aid to make lip gloss can be educational and fun when they participated in “Black Girls Do Science,” a one-day camp for girls in grades 4-8 held April 12 at the University of Iowa College of Engineering.

The girls also used liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, and they did introductory computer coding. The event was planned and conducted by current UI engineering students who developed the idea last year and have made it into an annual event.

The goal of the event was to encourage more black women—who make up only about two percent of U.S. scientists and engineers—to consider the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields when choosing a career.