Storytime with a Scientist Program

We are pleased to introduce a new family program titled, "Storytime with a Scientist". This program is a partnership between USC Sea Grant, the James A. Foshay Learning Center, and scientists across the greater Los Angeles community. 

This interactive program aims to bring students an engaging experience at home through a monthly webinar. Each month, a different scientist will read a story online, share about their expertise and career path, and answer questions. The webinars are geared towards grades 2-6 and are free to attend. Each month, the book will be shared prior to the webinar in the "Upcoming Scientist's Storytime Guest" section below. 

Objectives

This program has many objectives to help assist in providing an engaging, uplifting, science experience for families with children that are studying at home during this time. They include: 

Storytime with a Scientist: Guest Schedule

Below is information on the upcoming scientists that will be highlighted. All webinars will occur on a Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm PST, unless otherwise noted. Check back often for additional resources, a link to a recording for each webinar, and the schedule for upcoming scientists.

Upcoming Storytime with a Scientist Guest: 

This Month's Story with a Scientist Guest: Narida Dickerson, Program Manager for the Republic of Korea and Japan international sustainment programs for Raytheon Intelligence & Space

Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Webinar Link: To watch a recording of this event, click here. View Ms. Dickerson's PowerPoint here. 

Story Book of Choice: 

Ms. Dickerson read
"Going Places"
by Paul A. Reynolds (Author), Peter H. Reynolds (Author, Illustrator)

   

Narida Dickerson's Bio:

Narida Dickerson serves as a Program Manager for the Republic of Korea and Japan international sustainment programs for Raytheon Intelligence & Space in El Segundo, CA. In this role, she is responsible for planning and executing logistics services for customers and their sensor systems on the Global Hawk platform. Robertson's engineering career began in 1993 and has nearly spanned three decades. She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a Master’s Degree in Engineering & Production Management with a project management emphasis. Narida is committed to being a mentor and role model for aspiring and current STEM professionals from underrepresented populations. In 2019, she was named one of 50 Phenomenal Women in STEM by the Los Angeles Council of Black Engineers, received the MLK Jr. Keeper Of The Dream award from the Raytheon Black Employees Network, and was named a Technology All-Star by the Women of Color STEM professional conference.  Her personal interests include serving her community, old house restoration, cooking, gardening, and traveling to explore interesting food and cultures.

 

Past Storytime with a Scientist Guests

To view recordings of the previous Storytime guests, along with resources accompanying each webinar, please click here. 

Last Month's Story with a Scientist Guest: Znala Williams, a Ph.D. student at UCLA in the Molecular Biology program


Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Webinar Link: To watch a recording of this event, click here.

Story Book of Choice: 

Ms. Williams read
"The Secret Code Inside You: all about your DNA"
by Rajani LaRocca (Author), Steven Salerno (Illustrator)

   

Znala William's Bio:

 
Znala Williams is a Ph.D. student at UCLA in the Molecular Biology program researching Gene Regulation (understanding what turns genes on and off at the right time to function properly).  She is a member of the Kurdistani Lab. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of California Santa Cruz. She will read The Secret Code Inside of You.