Expanding Students’ Appetite For Science At Dinner With A Scientist
Calaveras, CA– Recently, Calaveras and Amador County school groups came together for an evening with scientists at the annual Dinner With a Scientist student event. 17 schools, comprising 110 students and 32 teachers, engaged with 27 volunteer scientists at the Mark Twain Hall, Calaveras County Fairgrounds. The 20 event volunteers played a role in the event’s success.
Dinner With a Scientist fosters dialogue between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals and students in grades four through twelve. Students rotated among four scientists during the evening, spending 20 minutes at each station. The scientists shared insights into their educational and career paths, conducted scientific demonstrations, and aimed to expand and inspire young minds across various scientific disciplines. Key areas represented included Applied Behavior, Meteorology, Forensics, Technology, Archaeology, Engineering, Health Care, Veterinary Medicine, Biology, Waste and Wastewater Management, Tribology, Horticulture, and Chemistry.
Guest scientist Kimberly Wooten, Historical Archaeologist with Caltrans, gave the keynote speech. Ms. Wooten shared experiences and findings from her global research sailing voyage, focusing on single-use plastics in oceans and applying archaeological methods to understand refuse behaviors.
Volunteers included Bret Harte Leadership students, Board of Education member Janet Jones Sterling, and CCOE employees. For more information about CCOE county-wide student events, visit www.ccoe.k12.ca.us/studentevents/.
