Scientist Spotlight (MLK)

Only for the curious! The U-M Museum of Natural History is hosting a very special version of our popular Scientist Spotlight in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025. Meet U-M scientists of color and learn about their research through interactive tabletop activities, such as:

• The Bouncing Drop Show: U-M Mechanical Engineering graduate student Biruk Teka Gidreta uses lotus leaves to demonstrate how “hydrophobic surfaces repel water, and how we can use that in high-tech cooling applications.
• A Scientist’s Guide to Reading Human Bones: U-M Anthropology graduate student Megan Savoy teaches visitors how to interpret burial sites. No actual human remains are included, but visitors can try out their skills first-hand on several different “graves” featuring fake bones, toy jewelry, and more!

Scientist Spotlight is a National Science Foundation-supported event, run through the museum’s Science Communication Fellows program to bring scientists and the public face-to-face. Stop by the museum on Monday, January 20, to get a bite-sized taste of cutting-edge research!