Van Nuys : Fair Helps Students Discover Inventors

A dark hat and a bushy beard partially obscuring his pale face, Yuri Drell stood guard at the entrance to Van Nuys Middle School.

“Hi, I’m Dmitri Mendeleev,” he announced to passing students from Kester Avenue Elementary School, embracing his role as the discoverer of the periodic table.

Yuri was one of about 70 students taking part Thursday in the school’s annual Multicultural Invention and Discovery Fair. But the science fair had a twist: Students were encouraged to research inventors and civilizations beyond the United States and Europe.

Thus the group studying the Mayan civilization wore loosely draped robes and performed a skit emphasizing the 18-month Mayan calendar and the importance of agriculture.

Researching Mayans took a lot of book work, confided Beverly Bares.

“I didn’t know anything about them before,” Beverly said. “But now I think it’s a really interesting culture to learn about--because they studied the sky from the top of their temples.”

Over in the Chinese civilization skit, a group of four touted the invention of the abacus, gun powder and paper. Terri Lerkcharan, clad in a traditional silk blouse, noted that the months-long study required reading, reports and library time.

“Before, I just knew that my grandma dresses Chinese, but I didn’t know anything about the discoveries and inventions,” Terri said.

Encouraging girls and minorities to learn about their scientific heritages was a vital part of the process, according to magnet coordinator Amanda Rubins.

And learning did transpire, according to 10-year-old Daniel Yaacobi, a visitor from nearby Kester Avenue Elementary.

After the skit about French inventor Louis Pasteur--best known for his technique for removing bacteria from milk--Daniel made a connection.

“I know about pasteurized milk,” Daniel said. “But I was surprised that there was a guy who made it.”

His classmate Megumi Tsutsui enjoyed the fair too.

“It’s much better to hear about inventions than to read it in a book,” she said.