STEMulating Black Youth in Science

Thelma Sardin |

Last week, President Obama delivered his second State of The Union address to the United States Congress and outlined Americas need for quality math and science education.

The president discussed the importance of innovation and said its Americas time to churn out productive workers ready to engage in leading technology careers. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business, Obama said.

The president also mentioned he will soon send a budget to Congress to help finance biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology and considers it , an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people, he said.

Obama understands the importance of cultivating young peoples interest in science and technology and so does the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI).

MSIs Black Creativity program encourages African-American children to reach their full potential in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

Since its inception forty years ago, MSIs Black Creativity program has been dedicated to presenting exhibits and programs that recognize achievements by African Americans, encouraging deeper interest in science and technology as well as Black culture and heritage, according to MSIs website.

In a recent interview with the Citizen, Anita Green, the chair of the Black Creativity program committee discussed how the initiative inspires Black children to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

If young people can see how powerful science and math is, it may encourage them to want to go into those fields, Green said. In addition, the program uses visual stimulation to educate children about science and technology. Exhibits include Billion Color Booth and Colorful Chemistry. Billon Color Booth will put you at the controls to mix and match the primary colors of light, Green said. Colorful Chemistry lets children see the outcome of mixing chemicals and adding heat.

According to Green, in the past the program has seen the participation of nearly 3,000 children. The New Year brings changes to the Black Creativity program. In the past, the series ran during the month of February only, now it will be a year around exhibit. Green says she is not sure how many children will be a part of the program now because of its lengthening. According to MSIs website, this years programming theme is Powerful: African Americans in Energy and events and activities will focus how we use power in our daily lives; energy awareness and conservation; as well as alternative energy research, breakthroughs and the African Americans that work in this field. Additionally, Powerful will carry on through the next year, and an interactive Black Creativity exhibit focused on the theme of energy will open in January 2012.

Green believes the program will allow children to explore science and technology. We have some exciting dynamic speakers and we are putting that together right now. I can speak from past experiences. We have done a Career Bowl for the last twenty years. Thats a program that combines the element of Jeopardy! and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Students will compete as they answer questions about energy, science and math, she said.

In October, former Secretary of Energy, Hazel OLeary served as a guest speaker. Some speakers for this years program have not been confirmed yet, but instructors and scientists from MSI will also serves as lecturers.

The Associated Press (AP) recently reported on the results of a federal exam, the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The AP reports that only 1 percent of fourth-grade and 12th-grade students and 2 percent of eighth-graders scored in the highest group.

AP also reported that the results show a stark achievement gap, with only 10 percent of Black students proficient in science in the fourth grade, compared to 46 percent of whites. At the high school level, results were even bleaker, with 71 percent of Black students scoring below the basic knowledge level, and just 4 percent proficient.

But at the museum, the program could be the inspiration for future Black leaders who may want to follow in the footsteps of other prominent African Americans in the science and technology fields. Leading the way was Percy Julian (1899-1975), a chemist best known for his essential organic research, particularly his research built on soybeans, Julian was awarded the Spingarn Medal for chemistry in 1947. After working for the paint company, he formed Julian Laboratories, Inc., in 1953; Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931) who conducted the first successful open heart surgery and also found Provident Hospital in Chicago and Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) an astronomer, mathematician and farmer is known for developing the city plan for Washington D.C. and developing a series of almanacs.

With Black Creativity celebrating its 40th anniversary, Green said Black children benefit from being exposed to other achievers in these fields. If they see positive role models that will definitely help shape their futureto see hands-on programshands-on exhibits and people of color participating in the sciences and recognizing it is a fun industry to be involved in, she said-- that experience helps in building tomorrows leaders.

The Black community can encourage children to participate in the sciences by sponsoring the Black Creativity program, inviting STEM speakers out to schools and by participating in field trips, she added.

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