On Saturday, April 29th, UC Davis hosted its annual STEM for Girls event. The goal was to get middle school girls more acquainted with STEM field. Food Science graduate students have been spending the last month preparing three different workshops around the theme: Food Fermentations. 

In the first workshop, girls learned about fermentation organisms and metabolisms, with our now famous yeast model, Miss Baker. In the second workshop, they understood that fermentation helps prevent food spoilage through competition for nutrient among microorganisms. Finally, they were challenged to eat, smell, and feel how fermentation modifies the food: sauerkraut, cheese, yogurt and more.

Throughout the day, 7 groups of about 10 girls were able to attend each workshop, as well as many more organized by other departments.