The Cool Side of Math and Science

Jacklyn Duff notices some problems with America’s public schools, and late last week she was in Mount Pleasant hoping to be part of the solution.

The former NASA electrical engineer says youngsters – particularly women and other minorities – aren’t entering careers or pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

“When I was 8 years old, a speaker came to our school and talked about outer space,” said Duff, a Philadelphia native. “I went home that day and said I was going to join the space program.”

In 2007, Duff got the chance. She was the lead electrical engineer on Space Shuttle Endeavour until earlier this year when the shuttle program was retired.

Out of work, but remembering how she was inspired as a youngster, Duff decided to travel the country for four months with her sister, educating youngsters about careers in science and engineering. She calls her program DREEMS, Dedicated to Raising Excitement for Engineering, Math, and Science.

“I loved everything about my NASA job,” Duff said. “Everything about that job was amazing, so I want to expose kids to the different aspects of math and science that they might not have considered before.”

On Thursday and Friday, Duff and her sister, Amanda, worked with 300 or so sixth graders at , teaching them how to build and operate hand-made rockets and robots. They also showed them how science is used in crime fighting and how physics can protect eggs dropped from a second-story balcony.

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“They also sat down with the kids and allowed them to ask questions about careers in science,” said Millibeth Currie, a seventh-grade science teacher. “Hearing their personal story really helps.”

Recognizing that developing nations such as China and India are churning out far more engineers and scientists than the United States, there has been a national effort to increase achievement in so-called STEM subjects.

Moultrie already has a program meant to increase female achievement in science and math, so the Duffs’ appearance fit in nicely, said .

“This is a really amazing experience for our students,” Dassing said. “The fact that it was completely free is also really incredible.”

Duff raised about $25,000 to fund the four-month trek across the country. Moultrie was her second stop on the multi-state tour. She was in Savannah earlier in the week and starts this week at a school in Maryland.

Prior to the visit, Duff sent a week’s worth of materials for students to study. The Duffs’ mother, Judy Levering Duff, a children’s book author, also donated 300 books to the school.

Duff said she hopes the program left kids seeing that the math and science courses they take today have real-world applications later in life.

“Scientists are behind just about everything they think is cool,” Duff said. “The jelly beans they like were created by a chemist and the theme park rides they love were developed by an engineer. There are so many different jobs that require math and science.”