The Girls and Science (GAS) Camp was established at Vanderbilt University in the summer of 1999 by Dr. Virginia Shepherd and Vicki Metzgar, in partnership with the School of Medicine and Peabody College of Education, in response to the gender differences in science achievement found in high school. The camp initially offered sessions for 8th and 9th grade girls but, over time, demand changed and sessions for 7th and 8th graders became the focus.
The goals of the GAS Camp are to engage girls in science activities, to foster confidence in science achievement, and to encourage girls' enrollment in high school science courses.
As part of the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge 2005, the 2005 Discovery Health Channel "Science Camp" Award Special Prize Winner received an all expense paid trip to Nashville to attend a week of GAS Camp 2006
