Visitors to the St. Louis Science Center will see more than the usual exhibits this weekend.
St. Louis area scientists have descended on the center for its annual Minority Scientist Showcase. Dozens of organizations are manning booths at the center through Monday so that kids can see science in action and meet people who make a career out of it.
At the National Society of Black Engineers booth on Saturday, Sandra and Stan Burton showed families how to look through a telescope and land a virtual plane. Sandra Burton is an engineer at Boeing and her husband Stan is an amateur astronomer who studied environmental science.
“We just try to get the kids interested in science because we really need a lot of students in STEM majors—science, technology, engineering and math. We can’t get enough of them,” Stan Burton said, adding that if the kids can see that science is interesting and discover they can do the activities at the booth, then maybe the science they learn in the classroom will come to life for them.
Nearby at the Sigma Aldrich booth, scientists and volunteers helped kids try out a number of experiments. At one station, kids can see their DNA by mixing their spit with soap in a test tube. At another, they can make silly putty out of starch and soap. At a third, they can test their reflexes.
“I’m here today because the kids need to see that they could be me,” technical scientist Jean Harrell said. She works in technical services at Sigma Aldrich, answering math and science-related questions about the company’s products.
“You want the minority children to see that there are minorities in this particular field,” Harrell said, noting that premise is the basis of the showcase.
“But I mean, all the kids come through and it’s just a matter of them seeing grown-ups doing what they might like,” she added.
Fifth-grader Larry Minner and his sister Adrianna Minner, a Hazelwood middle schooler, tried out all the experiments. Adrianna said she like testing her reflexes best; Larry like seeing his DNA.
Their mom, Simone Minner, said she brought her children and their cousin on Saturday because she wants them to love science.
“I hope to see my children to excel in the area of STEM,” Simone Minner said. “Whatever they chose (as a career) is fine, but as you know STEM careers are recession-proof, so I’d love to see them concentrate on STEM.”
According to the latest Census data, African Americans and Hispanics continue to be under-represented in STEM occupations. The number of women in science-related fields has increased in recent decades, but women continue to be under-represented, especially in the fields of engineering and computers.
Follow Camille Phillips on Twitter: @cmpcamille.
