According to Siinya Williams, senior director of educational outreach at the Saint Louis Science Center, the 23rd annual Minority Scientists Showcase was all about exposure.
The showcase offered an informal platform where professionals met one-on-one with youth and their families to discuss the benefits of pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
“When you see the [City of St. Louis] Water Division, those guys out on the street with those broken water hydrants, that’s science,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of science that they have to do in order to fix that system. Now, here’s your chance to understand the actual work that they do.”
Without industry role models, youth develop misconceptions that science-related careers are unattainable for them, which is one reason why these showcases are so crucial, she said.
It’s why Jeanne Harrell, a technical service scientist with the Sigma-Aldrich Corp., has volunteered for 20 years.
“If they can see me, they can be me,” Harrell said. “Even if I see 100 kids, if I get one of them to say, ‘I can be a scientist, too. There’s a black woman.’”
Sigma-Aldrich was one of more than 20 exhibitors that participated in this year’s showcase, including two new exhibitors, Hosco Farms and Wade Funeral Home.
Science demonstrations engaged inquisitive minds of all ages, like Sigma-Aldrich’s homemade silly putty and chemiluminescence experiments. Chemiluminescence is the emission of light as the result of a chemical reaction replicated by adding hydrogen peroxide to a luminal reaction solution, Harrell explained.
People marveled at the innovative Aeroponic, a device used to grow fruits and veggies in the air sans soil, developed by Hosco Farms CEO Gibran Burchett.
Patrons were equally intrigued by the embalming process and mortuary science in general, especially the tools of the trade. Aaron Grimes, licensed funeral director and embalmer at Wade Funeral Home, said he never knew so many people were interested in mortuary science.
Students with the Saint Louis Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) program represented their respective subgroups – biofuels, neuroscience, atmospheric science, matter and engineering – at the showcase.
Jared Witherspoon, 16 of Clayton High School, showed off past group projects and remote-operated vehicle sketches that he and fellow YES: Design It! Engineering teammates hope to build in the near future.
Wade Funeral Home, like other exhibitors, has partnered with the YES program, a community educational outreach program for underprivileged high school students.
The college preparation aspect of the YES program was a huge component at the showcase evident in extended invitations to college representatives from St. Louis College of Health Careers, Lindenwood University, and University of Missouri-St. Louis. They were available to answer questions about which classes, as college-bound high school students, they should be taking now to academically prepare for STEM-related careers.
“We are teaching the skills that they are going to need to be successful from college and beyond, but we use STEM activities to teach those skills,” said Williams of Saint Louis Science Center.
She doesn’t expect every student to become a scientist. However, she said, “Having the opportunity to be exposed to these scientific fields, we’re creating our future.”
The three-day event, held over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, concluded on the Monday holiday with prize giveaways, African dance performances and jazz music.
