WonderLab hosts MLK event

Nine-year-old Michael Proffer dug his hands into the fake chimpanzee dung at WonderLab Museum of Health, Science and Technology on Monday.

“There’s another one,” he said excitedly as he extracted a seed from the mixture.

When it didn’t match the seeds on the identification card, he moved it to the unknown pile.

“This is cool,” he said.

Proffer and his younger twin brothers came to WonderLab Monday for the Real Life
Science: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. The event consisted of 12 presentations by IU scientists and volunteers, ranging from geology and biology to entomology. Children touched beetles, jumped to make earthquakes, mixed solutions and dug through rocks to find fossils.

“It’s great for them to have a place to do hands-on activities,” Alyssa Conner, a Lawrence County resident, said.

Her daughter Vanessa, 8, learned about plants while Lili, 4, hoisted herself up using the pulley system.

“We’ve had a membership since they were in strollers,” Conner said.

The event also showcased the diversity of scientists in terms of gender, race and
ethnicity, said Staci Radford-Vincent, WonderLab program and outreach manager.

“We have done special programming for MLK day the last few years,“ she said. “As this year came around, we planned a program to interact with scientists and see the diversity of science. It’s the idea that everybody can do science. It’s about being curious and wanting to learn about the world around you.”

She said many participants this year were particularly enthusiastic.

“I’ve seen lots of kids interacting and becoming excited about the presentations,” she said. “And the presenters are really enjoying interacting with the families, both the parents and the kids.”

WonderLab volunteer Fran Weinberg held an Australian bearded dragon to her chest.

“He’s called ‘bearded’ because of all those spikes he has,” she said to a group of children. “But they are really very soft. All he can do is scare people and make them run away and not eat him.”

Julie Hong, 7, reached out to stroke the lizard’s spiky skin. Hong said she felt, but softer than she expected. Julie’s favorite activity?

“Climbing the leaves,” she said, referring to the floor-to ceiling structure.

Eight-year-old Andrew Theriault enjoyed the pH station. He helped measure liquid and salt into a test tube.

“Give it a really good shake,” said Allison Bryan, a volunteer with the IU presentation.

“I want to make it like seawater,” he said as he vigorously shook the tube.
Bryan showed him how to check the pH of a substance using the meter.

If it’s less than seven, it’s an acid, she said.

He then tested a tube of Coke and confirmed its acidic status.

“This is a great experience for children to learn about science in a hands-on way,” Bryan said. “Hopefully it will install an interest in future scientists.”

She said she liked the pH presentation because it allowed the kids to see the color change as they changed the pH of the substance. “They ask ‘what happened, why did
it do that?’”

Weinberg said she also enjoyed watching the children’s curiosity as they explored the museum.

“Kids and science are really two things that should go together,” she said.