Stop in Today at Tom Wood Ford, and check out the all new Ford Edge, Ford Focus and much more! By Cathy Kightlinger Extracting DNA from strawberries and suturing chicken breasts aren't usual Saturday afternoon activities for middle school-age girls.

But that's exactly what they were doing Saturday at Sycamore School's one-day girls' conference, which is aimed at introducing female students to careers in science before they begin high school.More than 300 girls from across the state enrolled in the event, which is in its 10th year.The annual conference got its start when teachers at Sycamore wanted to take their students to a similar event at Purdue over a decade ago, and couldn't find vacant spots."We couldn't get the girls in," said Carla Bennett, a retired Sycamore teacher who is a founder of the conference. "I thought, 'well the demand has to be there.' "It was. This year's conference had 20 on a waiting list in addition to 340 who enrolled, according to organizers.The event is significant at a time when discussions about Indiana's economy are changing to include more life sciences than previously, said Bennett."Traditionally . . . girls were hanging back in the sciences," she said, adding that times have changed because of efforts to foster female students' interest in science and math. "It's unbelievable."When girls arrived at the event Saturday, more than 100 workshop leaders, representing 32 companies and universities met them.Girls participated in exploding chemistry demonstrations, metal soldering, suturing pigs' feet, spent time in a cryogenics lab and more.Seventh-grader Anne Buckwalter participated."Usually when I think of engineering -- my uncle is an engineer -- I think of guys in the field," said Anne, 12, Indianapolis. "It was neat to see so many women interested in a wide variety of careers."Erin Gerecke, a biology lecturer at Butler University, showed the girls how to extract DNA from strawberries. This marks her third year as a volunteer."I enjoy being involved in opportunities that let me show other people that science can be fun, and I especially like this event because it focuses on girls at an age when they are making decisions on (what) they want to be," she said.Carla Yerkes -- a research biologist at Dow AgroSciences -- volunteered and brought her niece, Sara Cox, 12, Kingman, to the conference with her."I enjoy the opportunity to be able to teach about what I do," said Yerkes. "It's a chance to be creative . . . and interact with young ladies. It's a chance to show them what a research biologist does. I didn't have that opportunity as a young girl."

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