Oh the places you’ll go
By Daily Bruin Staff
March 31, 1997 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 2, 1997
Cascade Pass Inc.’s multimedia CD-ROM opens doors to future to
inspire young girlsBy Teresa Jun
Daily Bruin Contributor
In the past, keeping a child inside the house may not have
seemed like the best way to teach her about career opportunities.
But in the age of the computer, Cascade Pass Inc. has challenged
this notion by introducing its first CD-ROM, "You Can Be a Woman
Engineer," which is targeted toward a very young CD-ROM audience
 girls, ages 6-12.
Cascade Pass, a small publishing firm operated by Judith Love
Cohen and her husband David Katz, began publishing a series of "You
Can Be a Woman … (Engineer, Architect, etc.)" children’s books a
few years ago. These books introduce young girls to science- and
math-related careers which they traditionally have not been
actively encouraged to pursue.
Cohen, a 1982 graduate of the UCLA Engineering Executive Program
and currently a registered professional electrical engineer in
California, suggests that girls who are interested in math and
science-related careers need to be encouraged to pursue these
interests at an early age.
"By junior high and high school, most girls have already made up
their minds," she commented in discussing girls’ career choices.
"Or they haven’t taken the right classes (to pursue these kinds of
careers)."
The couple claims that, without early encouragement, girls tend
to stick with those careers traditionally held by women. In a Santa
Maria Times article two months ago, Katz, who is a substitute
elementary school teacher, described asking elementary school girls
what they wanted to be when they grew up.
"They all said teachers, nurses and secretaries," Katz said.
But the couple hopes that this may soon change with the
adaptation of Cascade Pass’s book series into instructional CD-ROM
versions. "You Can Be a Woman Engineer," the company’s first
CD-ROM, provides an interactive medium for young girls to learn
about being an engineer. The program includes conversations with
Cohen about her personal and professional life as an engineer. She
has worked on a variety of projects, including Apollo and the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Complete with interactive games, the latest updates in
space-related news and its very own theme song, the software is
designed to engage and capture a young child’s interest.
Illustrations and animations intended to reach out to the
program’s young audience complete the package. Over 3,000 drawings,
created on the program by Katz  who has had experience as an
artist and illustrator  demonstrate ’60s-style graphics with
bright, neon colors.
"It’s primitive, bright and colorful," said Katz. "Somewhat of a
deliberate attempt to create animations from the viewpoint of a
child."
The artist added that typically, CD-ROM graphics are often too
sophisticated for such a young audience, even on CD-ROMs designed
specifically for children.
Another UCLA alum, Suzanne Weiss Morgen, is also involved in the
production of Cascade Pass’s CD-ROM series. Keeping in mind the
firm’s focus on a young audience, she composed and sang a fitting
theme song for "You Can Be a Woman Engineer."
"The song opens up the program, and it kind of gets you in the
mood," said Morgen, a 1974 graduate of UCLA in vocal performance.
"Then it plays over the credits in the end. It’s a very zippy and
fun song with woodblocks and chimes."
Morgen is currently working on the theme song for Cascade Pass’s
next CD-ROM, "You Can Be a Woman Marine Biologist," which is due
out late this summer.
Currently, "You Can Be a Woman Engineer" is available for $19.95
at various bookstores including the UCLA BookZone. Packed with the
original book version offered in English and in Spanish, the CD-ROM
software also offers the option of Spanish narration for
Spanish-speaking children.
Having been kid-tested before its release, the program received
positive reviews. With the variety of activities and options
available on the CD-ROM, Katz says he is confident that young girls
will continue to respond positively to the software. "There’s hours
and hours worth of stuff to do," he said.
AARON TOUT
Judith Love Cohen, a 1982 UCLA engineering graduate, recently
helped produce an instructional CD-ROM entitled "You Can Be a Woman
Engineer."
