Research is a major part of the intensive GROOVE summer enrichment program for middle school girls. Girls are randomly selected to participate in one of two three-week summer camp experiences.
The general content and activities of each of the two summer science enrichment programs are similar. One camp used conventional hands-on teaching methods to deliver the program, while the other employed a 3-D virtual world as a key strategy to model a healthy lifestyle and explore health-related content. Girls and their families who participated learned about nutrition and portion size using USDA MyPlate as they prepared healthy meals, sampled new foods, and created healthy menus for their food trucks.
Each year, Frost Science collected parent surveys to study the impact of GROOVE. Virtually all parents reported changes in their daughters’ behavior, including:
- choosing healthy snacks
- increased physical activity
- reading food labels
- eating healthier and well-balanced portions
