BLOOMINGTON - The blood wasn't real but the fun was as 200 girls took part in the daylong Millennium Girls conference at State Farm Insurance Cos.' corporate south campus Saturday. One thing the girls were asked to do was use synthetic blood to learn about blood types.

The conference, for fifth- through eighth-grade girls, is to encourage them to consider careers in fields related to mathematics, science and technology.

Following this year's theme of forensic sciences, labs allowed the girls to familiarize themselves with robotic control programs, create video games and write encrypted messages with encryption algorithms.

Illinois State University was the original host for the annual conference, which began about 11 years ago, and the university continues to co-sponsor the event with State Farm.

"I don't want to leave!" exclaimed Alexis Peterson, 10, a fifth-grader at Stevenson Elementary School in Bloomington.

Her enthusiasm was fanned by a lab on robotics led partly by Ruth Graning, who served on the marketing committee for the event. The girls seemed enthusiastic about their new skills, Graning said.

"They're already creating additional programs," she said.

Another lab allowed the girls to make a video games using technology called "scratch" from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ricardo Zamudio said his daughter, Marisa, comes every year. "She gets excited about the different activities. It gives them exposure to things they might not get otherwise."

"It shows you things you didn't think you can do," said Marisa, 13, an eighth-grader at Bloomington Junior High School.

This year's conference had a record number of girls interested in registering. Event coordinator Diana Pearson said organizers might consider expanding the conference next year.

There was "great participation and enthusiasm from the girls," she said. "I don't think I've ever seen them that animated at the end of the day."