A traveling exhibit called 'African American Pioneers in Science Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Math' at the African American Museum of Dallas in Fair Park is meant to get the gears turning for future inventors, by seeing diversity in inventors of the past and present.
"I wanted the African American kids to feel a sense of pride," exhibit curator Barbara Jones said. "They did it. I can do it."
"If you're curious, you can be an inventor," Fluor Foundation President Torrence Robinson said. "That's what this exhibit helps to foster."
The exhibit features 162 inventions over the last 100-years; from the 3-way stoplight, to COVID vaccine contributions, to Michael Jackson's dance shoes with a groove in the heel that allowed him to hook into the dancefloor.
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"To be able to lean at that 45-degree angle," exhibit curator Barbara Jones said. "We knew Michael Jackson was a superstar, but how is he defying gravity? It was with this invention."
Jones curated the exhibit with children in mind.
"I want all kids to know that they can do this, too," Jones said. "I tell them if there's something that you don't like, change it. If there's something that doesn't exist, invent it."
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African American Pioneers in Science Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Math is on exhibit at the African American Museum of Dallas through March 19.
