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HOUGHTON - "Did you have a good day?"

"Yes!" the girls shouted.

"Was it really, really fun!"

"Yes!"

"Should we do it again next year?"

"Yes!"

And with that, the first Science Spectacular came to a close at Michigan Technological University Saturday.

The event, sponsored by the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, brought together 92 girls from grades K-12 to learn about science.

Close to 100 volunteers helped out, including female Tech science and engineering students.

"We need more girls in science, there's a shortage of engineers and we want them to have positive role models, like the girls at Tech," said Joan Chadde, education coordinator for the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Activities were divided into three levels for different ages. K-3 students planted flowers and learned about photosynthesis, made slime and learned about wetlands ecology.

Tasks for fourth through eighth graders included making their own lip gloss and purifying water by filtering it through sand, gravel, charcoal and alum. The process is similar to that undergone on a larger scale by wastewater treatment plants, Chadde said.

"Running it through the sand, the gravel, the activated charcoal and the alum, they can really get it clear," she said. "It's amazing."

High-school students had the most complex sessions, touching on trees, air quality and "Ultrasonic Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes," which has applications including astronaut space suits.

Norma Fairbanks, a Girl Scouts leader and presenter for the "Scientific Brain-Teasers" session, said it had been a good day.

"I think a lot of girls learned a lot," she said.

Making slime and planting a sunflower were the top activities for Harvey third-grader Anna Palmcook. Jordan Geyer, a fourth-grader from Gladstone, enjoyed making a candy car, as well as witnessing the explosive reaction of Diet Coke and Mentos.

"Today was really fun," she said.

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese @mininggazette.com.