The B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center swapped guitars for goggles last Saturday as families packed the lawn for a hands-on STEM day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Kids built “lava lamps,” wired simple circuits, and lined up to power tiny bulbs with potato batteries. A juvenile alligator—plus turtles and tortoises and even a snake—stole the show at the live-animal tent.
Sunflower and Leflore County 4-H agents Brett Clark and Christina Meriwether ran a steady crowd through the “spud power” station.
“Community outreach, allowing our 4-H’ers to take what they’ve learned through our programs and teach other kids in the community,” Clark said. “This is the second annual Science Fest at the B.B. King Museum, and we’re pleased to be a part of it.”
Clark broke down the science behind the glow.
“The galvanized nail has a zinc coating, and that’s the anode,” she said. “It gives up electrons, and the copper wire catches them. To move from potato to potato, you clip from the copper wire to the galvanized nail of the next potato.”
The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science drew wide eyes with its traveling menagerie. A patient educator let small hands touch the baby gator’s tail while older kids compared turtle and tortoise shells and talked about habitats; hardly anyone wanted to touch the snake.
Learning wasn’t limited to lab coats.
The Mississippi Forestry Association talked about conservation and green-industry careers with Education and Outreach Coordinator Jonathan Smith. The Indianola Community Wellness Center set up shop to promote healthy-living programs close to home. The Sunflower County Library System rolled in a trunk of STEM kits families can use at local branches through early November.
“We’re more than just books,” library director Mary Ann Griffin said. “With a library card, you can check out kits, costumes, ebooks, and audiobooks—and September is library card sign-up month.”
The Mississippi Delta Nature Learning Center in Greenville used the day to invite families back outdoors. Programs Director Skylar Hults shared that October will bring family-friendly evenings in the garden, weekend activities, and chances for youth to pitch in through the garden intern program.
By afternoon, the museum grounds looked like a science block party: a 4-year-old gently touching an alligator, teens explaining circuits to younger kids, and parents swapping photos under balloon arches. It was simple, joyful, and very Delta.
Curiosity sounds just as good as the blues when a community shows up together.
