%0 Journal Article %A Dabney, Katherine P. %A Johnson, Teri N. %A Sonnert, Gerhard %A Sadler, Philip M. %D 2017 %I Begell House %K women, career interest, out-of-school time, science, STEM %N 3 %P 249-270 %R 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2017018018 %T STEM CAREER INTEREST IN WOMEN AND INFORMAL SCIENCE %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/00551c876cc2f027,352f15b4114823b4,549aa5894d051e22.html %V 23 %X Recent studies show that informal science, also known as out-of-school time (OST) science, may be associated with STEM interest. Yet, there is a paucity of research examining which informal science experiences may encourage women's interest in STEM careers. This study of female, first semester freshmen, (n = 7,417) uses data from the OPSCI survey to examine the degree to which participation in informal science experiences during high school is associated with undergraduates' likelihood to pursue STEM careers. A general indicator of STEM OST engagement, specific activities and the number of years during high school in which students engage in these activities are examined. Our analysis, based on descriptive statistics, correlations, and logistic regression models, shows that participation in informal science during high school boosts females' likelihood of STEM career interest as entering undergraduates, with a higher odds of attracting females without an initial STEM interest. Furthermore, analyses indicate that the odds of a woman being interested in STEM upon entering college is greater for those who had long term participation (for two or more years during high school) in the majority of OST STEM activities, than for those who did not. %8 2018-02-05