College Instructor Creates Web Site to Make Science Cool for Young Blacks

Jackie Johnson, an instructor at Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina, has developed a new education Web site with the goal of making science “cool” for African-American kids. Her Mop Top, the Hip-Hop Scientist Web site profiles several notable black scientists from the past as well as the present day. An interactive lab allows visitors to click on particular objects in a room, such as a laptop computer, the human brain, or an airplane, and be linked to a site that explains how they work.

In order to provide a role model for budding young women scientists, Mop Top has a female sidekick named Lollipop. Johnson hopes that teachers of black students in public schools across the nation will use the Web site to encourage African Americans to become interested in careers in science.

To view the site, click here.

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