As she heard the book being read about Charles Henry Turner, six-year-old Isla Smith’s eyes were as wide as her adorable afro puffs. With each new bit of information revealed in “Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner,” her excitement became more palpable.
She was oblivious to the toddlers scooting around her as Dr. Naomi Msengi of Washington University turned the pages and read more about Turner’s life.
For this week, the reading for the recurring story time segment at The Missouri History Museum reflected the theme of the full-day Black Missourians in STEM program that was underway on Saturday, February 15.
The first Black to receive a graduate degree from the University of Cincinnati and among the first to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago, Turner was also the first Black entomologist. He was a pioneer in the field thanks to his experiments to determine the cognitive abilities of arthropods, such as spiders and bees.
He also examined different individuals within a species. His groundbreaking work was a precursor to the study of animal personality. And most of his experiments took place right here in St. Louis – where he spent most of his career as a science teacher at Sumner High School.
“It was the first Black high school built west of the Mississippi,” the program facilitator told the children. “He taught science there – and his students helped him do experiments.”
Before Dr. Msengi read the book, the woman gave them a brief history lesson about him in a manner that was digestible for their young minds.
“He loved bugs – and I love bugs too,” she said.
“I love bugs too,” they repeated without prompting, Including Isla.
“He studied how bugs acted around each other – and around him,” she said. “We are going to learn about one of his experiments.”
They also learned about his life by way of Janice N. Harrington’s book.
“He never stopped asking questions,” Dr. Msengi read. “A classmate said he spent hours peering through microscopes, planning for experiments and gathering specimens.”
The book detailed a particular experiment where he concluded that insects could sense time and detect color.
“Even though he was a respected scientist, Charles faced racial prejudice,” Dr. Msengi read. “African Americans had to attend separate schools. And he lived in St. Louis during the terrible East St. Louis riots, when hateful mobs killed more than 100 African Americans, and burned their neighborhoods.”
It was the study of plants and animals that gave Turner hope.
“He hoped that biology could help people see the connections among all living things,” Dr. Msengi read. “Biology teaches us to think less of ourselves, and more of each other.”
The book described Turner as a devoted scholar who taught students to look closely to find the webs that connect us all.
“Just as he did,” Dr. Msengi said. “And to fill the world with questions.”
As soon as the story time was over, Isla made her way to the microscopes – the same as the book described Turner doing 140 years ago.
Kirstan Riddle presented her with slides of different insects to choose from.
“Do you have any grasshoppers,” Isla asked.
“I don’t, but I do have cicadas,” Riddle said.
She started to provide an explanation of what it was, but Isla made it clear that Riddle didn’t need to.
“Cool,” Isla exclaimed, before Riddle could go any further in her description.
Charles Henry Turner had to be looking down with a smile even bigger than Isla’s.