Maia Lipschutz Participates in Dinner with a Scientist
Maia Lipschutz, a wildlife biologist in our Sacramento, CA office, recently presented at “Dinner with a Scientist.” The annual event, organized by Tuolumne County Schools and held at the Columbia College Gymnasium in Sonora, CA, invites fifth through eighth graders from local schools to enjoy presentations and dinner with scientists from diverse and fascinating fields.
Twenty-three scientists set up tables and demonstrations for the students, from a biologist with DNA sequencing equipment, to an engineer with elaborate pulley systems, to a forester with giant sugar pinecones and wood cross-sections. The opening presentation featured an audio and video engineer who shared his experiences working for Disney in their Tokyo and Shanghai parks. The students were energized by his talk and eager to try out the engineer’s electric guitar and soundboard.
Students selected four scientists to visit during 20-minute rotations. The scientists spoke about their fields, answered questions, and led hands-on activities. During one rotation, a kid-friendly dinner was served, giving the scientists a chance to eat and chat with the students and teachers.
Maia brought her personal wildlife skull collection and bird and mammal identification books to complement her discussion of wildlife biology. Her white-tailed deer skull was a major draw, and students were excited to handle the antlers and examine a surprisingly large cow vertebra. Maia gave a brief overview of the origin and purpose of wildlife biology and responded to students’ questions. She especially enjoyed telling one group about exciting places they could work, such as Hawaii and Equatorial Guinea, and encouraged them to Google what a pangolin looks like.
The kids were all bright and clearly enthusiastic about science,” shared Maia. “I strongly recommend volunteering at events like these. I did not even know wildlife biology was a field of study until I was in college, so events like this one help give kids a head start and hopefully plant some seeds for future interest in biology as well as other scientific disciplines.”
