Mardi Gras meets science education for STEM Saturday 

January 27, 2024

By Sofia McDonald, Staff Writer

In New Orleans, even science gets into the Mardi Gras spirit. The Art of STEM and Mardi Gras took over STEM NOLA’s STEM Saturday as local children incorporated the arts associated with Mardi Gras season, with the fun of learning science.  

The New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund presented STEM NOLA with a $25,000 donation in support of ongoing educational programming for K-through-12 children. The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, Entergy, the City of New Orleans, the City Council, Boeing and Chick-Fil-A served as sponsors for the event on Jan. 27.  

“We want our kids to know that Mardi Gras is the largest, greatest movement art show in the world,” said Dr. Calvin Mackie, the founder of STEM NOLA.  

Mackie, a New Orleans native said the goal of STEM Saturday is to expose, inspire and engage children in the New Orleans area to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Since 2013, Mackie has found new ways to reach over 100,000 students through hands-on STEM activities.  

“STEM Saturdays are one of STEM NOLA’s programs of engaging with kids over the weekend with various activities,” Mackie said.  

Mardi Gras is all about science, technology and math combined into one, Mackie explained. It is not only about throwing and catching beads. No matter what children are into he said he wanted them to see how STEM is always involved.  

“What we’re trying to do for our kids in New Orleans, is give them an opportunity and package them so that no matter where they decide to go to school, whatever they decide to do, they will have a requisite portfolio,” Mackie said.  

Thanks to generous grants, local children are able to get more opportunities to explore different cultural traditions through STEM. Like Mackie’s kids, he shared that they too started out doing STEM Saturday, and now they are off to colleges such as Howard and Yale universities, pursuing engineering.  

From being exposed to something they have never seen before, that can really change the outcome of how they see things, exposing children early on to the world of STEM can change their lives when they get older, Mackie said.   

 “I love how STEM Saturdays make me feel especially the smiles on kid’s faces,” said Jazmine Crockett, the education manager for STEM NOLA.