MEDIA ADVISORY: First African-American To Walk in Space Will Visit NJIT on July 14, 2010
WHO: Bernard Harris, MD, of Houston, veteran of two space shuttle missions and the first African-American to walk in space, visits NJIT July 14, 2010. He’ll teach in the morning, then speak to youngsters at a luncheon. During the class, students will design and build a straw and tin foil raft, then see how many pennies the raft can hold before sinking. It is based on Archimedes’ principle.
WHAT: Some 55 middle school students from New Jersey and New York are participating in the two-week ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. At the upcoming event, students will build rafts from limited supplies and face off in an intense competition. In addition, they’ll learn about science careers with ExxonMobil engineers and scientists plus hear an inspiring message from camp founder Harris. NJ students live in: Closter, Cresskill, Dayton, Edison, East Orange, Ewing, Franklin Park, Hillsborough, Hillside, Jersey City, Kearny, Landing, Marlboro, Montclair; Newark, North Bergen, North Brunswick, Northvale, Orange, South Orange, Palisades Park, Parsippany, Paterson, Pennington, Roselle, Somerset, Stanhope, Teaneck, Tenafly, Union, Wallington, West Orange. NY students are from: Bellmawr, Bronx, Bayside and Hartsdale.
WHEN: Harris visits Wednesday, July 14 at 10:30 a.m. while he teaches a class. At 12:30 p.m. he’ll address students.
WHERE: NJIT, Newark, NJ
WHY: Studies show that the United States is facing a critical shortage of engineers, scientists and other technically trained workers. To help address this crisis, former astronaut Bernard Harris and ExxonMobil are providing 30 free two-week summer camps across the country that offer innovative math and science programs to encourage middle school students to stay in school, develop their knowledge and foster their interest in engineering.