The College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Chemistry at Valdosta State University will present Science Saturday: Solving Mysteries Through Chemistry from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 29 in the Hugh C. Bailey Science Center.
 
Science Saturday: Solving Mysteries Through Chemistry is ideal for students in the middle grades. However, all ages are invited to take advantage of this fun-filled and educational opportunity, which will include such activities as extracting DNA, solving mysterious cases like a crime scene investigator, learning about chemical elements and water, and identifying suspicious powders and fibers.
 
Science Saturday is supported by VSU’s STEM Initiative and is part of an ongoing effort to inspire the next generation to want to learn more about these areas. Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences understand that the nation’s future economic prosperity is closely linked with student success in the STEM fields.
 
According to the United States Department of Education, only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in a STEM career. In November 2009 President Barack Obama launched Educate to Innovate, an initiative designed “to move American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade,” according to a White House press release. He also called on the nation to develop, recruit, and retain 100,000 STEM teachers over the next 10 years and asked colleges and universities to graduate an additional one million students with STEM majors.   
 
Science Saturday activities are free of charge and open to the public.
 
Contact the College of Arts and Sciences at (229) 333-5699 or Dr. Linda de la Garza, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, at (229) 333-5340 or [email protected] to learn more