La Grande Middle School students Weslie Seimears, left, and Jillian Nelson test a selection of powders during the 2019 Girls in Science STEM program at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.

LA GRANDE — Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center’s long-standing and wildly-popular Girls in Science program has a new moniker — Investigators of Science.

After running the girls-only program for more than 20 years, the health education center is expanding its popular one-day event to accommodate all middle school students in the region interested in science.

Program Coordinator Hailey Hulse said that after having to cut other programs, and two years of hosting the Girls in Science event virtually, it’s more important than ever to boost rural students’ interest — and self-confidence — in STEM.

“It’s all about investing in these students now and showing them that there’s an opportunity for them,” she said.

Hosted in collaboration with Eastern Oregon University, the event Friday, Oct. 29, immerses students from across Eastern Oregon in hands-on activities that explore topics in chemistry, biology, mathematics and computer science — all while working to solve this year’s forensic mystery.

“There will be nothing gory or anything explicit like that by any means,” Hulse said. “The goal is to share time together, promote scientific curiosity, and allow students to learn together and try to solve this forensic mystery.”

University faculty will lead the young investigators through the day’s activities and experiments in EOU’s Badgley Hall. Volunteers and students from various science-related clubs across campus will assist in the labs, guiding the participants through blood typing, fabric analysis and more.

Hulse noted that EOU theater students will be putting their acting chops to the test — acting out scenes to help immerse the students in the crime investigation.

NEOAHEC offers services to 11 counties in the region. Hulse said the program draws many students from the Pendleton area and even some from as far as Malheur, Grant and Harney counties.

Given the program’s exponential popularity during the past two decades, registration is capped at 100 students.

This year, the team opted to expand the program up to all middle schoolers, in hopes of reestablishing a well-balanced, inclusive offering of programs for the region.

“That’s why we opened it up, to really just try and build the science background of students across Eastern Oregon, because as we know in rural settings, the science opportunities may be more limited than those in urban settings,” Hulse said.

Participants in this all-day event receive lunch and an Investigators of Science T-shirt — as well as snacks throughout the day.

“It’s a really cool opportunity, whether you want to go into science or not,” Hulse said, “to get some experience and engage with other people who love doing this stuff.”