Are you ready to explore Black excellence in STEAM!

Join us on a fun and exciting journey through Black history for the entire month of February! All month long we will be STEAMing Up Learning about some of the greatest thinkers and inventors in our nation’s history – and they just happen to be Black. Each week for the month of February, we will highlight Black pioneers in the following areas:

  • Math Week: February 1-5
  • Science Week: February 6-12
  • Explorers Week: February 13-19
  • Engineering Week: February 20-26
  • More Black STEAM Excellence: February 27-28 

It is our hope that not only will you uncover some gems in these great pioneers but that you will also tap into some of your own unrealized greatness that connects you and your children to these trailblazers. 

We look forward to going on this journey with you. Happy Black History Month!

James E. West: The Man Behind the Mic Check

James E. West: The Man Behind the Mic Check

Who is James E. West?

  • Holds over 250 patents for Microphones production and design
  • Worked on a device to detect pneumonia
  • His mother was one of the renowned “Hidden Figures”
  • Was electrocuted at 8 years old
  • Never graduated from college
  • Was interested in the Black Panthers

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Percy Julian: The King of Synthetic Things

Percy Julian: The King of Synthetic Things

Who is Percy Julian?

  • Obtained more than 130 patents 
  • Created a process to synthesize a drug used to treat glaucoma
  • Sold his company Julian Laboratories to pharmaceutical giant Smith, Kline & French for more than $2.2 million in 1961 (approximately $22 million today)
  •  Grandson of former slaves
  • Honored on USPS Black Heritage Stamp in 1993

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Patricia Bath: The Queen of Ophthalmology

Patricia Bath: The Queen of Ophthalmology

Who is Patricia Bath?

  • Invented technology to remove cataracts
  • First African-American to complete a residency in ophthalmology
  • First African-American female doctor to receive a medical patent
  • Derived a mathematical equation for predicting cancer cell growth as a 16-year-old
  • Graduated from high school in only two years

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Otis Boykin: Mr. Resistor

Otis Boykin: Mr. Resistor

Who is Otis Boykin?

  • Invented the wire precision resistor
  • Invented a burglar-proof cash register
  • Invented a resistor used in US military guided missiles
  • Invented resistor control units that were built into IBM computers
  • Invented a control unit for the pacemaker.

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5 Amazing Black Mathematicians You Should Know!

5 Amazing Black Mathematicians You Should Know!

Today we are going to take a trip through history and explore some of the most brilliant Black minds in the world of mathematics. Get ready to be inspired and amazed as we learn about some incredible mathematicians and their groundbreaking contributions. From the early 1800's, to the days of the civil rights movement, to the present, these mathematicians have made a huge impact in the field and beyond!

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Benjamin Banneker: The Math Wizard of the 18th Century

Benjamin Banneker: The Math Wizard of the 18th Century

Benjamin Banneker was a man ahead of his time. Born in Maryland in 1731 to free parents, he was an American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor and so much more. Despite facing significant obstacles due to his race and lack of formal education, Banneker made significant contributions to science and society during his lifetime.

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David Blackwell : The Statistician and Game Theorist

David Blackwell : The Statistician and Game Theorist

David Blackwell was a pioneer in the field of statistics and the mathematical foundations of game theory, which is the study of how and why people make decisions. He was the first African-American inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, the first African-American tenured faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley, and the seventh African-American to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics.

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Euphemia Lofton Haynes: The Pioneering Math Queen

Euphemia Lofton Haynes: The Pioneering Math Queen

Haynes began her career as a teacher and quickly realized that there were few resources available to help her teach mathematics to her students. Consequently, she decided to pursue advanced education in mathematics in order to develop her own teaching materials. Haynes' research and teaching materials were not only influential in the field of mathematics education but also in the field of mathematical logic.

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