The James E. Richmond Science Center in Waldorf is constantly looking to engage students and the community alike, hosting events for everyone to enjoy.
“We see over 22,000 Charles County Public School students during the school year, and we work with an additional 6,700 out-of-county students that come to visit us,” Monique Wilson, director of the science center, said in an interview. “We accomplish this with a teaching staff of four, which includes me.”
The science center, which sits on the campus of St. Charles High School, boasts the largest planetarium in the state of Maryland and continues to expand its services to out-of-county students.
“St. Mary’s, Calvert, Prince George’s and Montgomery County schools are invited to schedule school day trips at the center,” Wilson said.
Outside of school hours, the science center has increased its full-dome movie catalog to offer more variety for evening and weekend guests.
“I have started contracting with outside producers to bring cinematic and artistic content to Southern Maryland,” Wilson said. “An example of this is the production of “Mesmerica” that we are hosting on Feb. 24 and March 16.”
The family-friendly, 3D immersive music and art cinematic projection show is for planetariums and giant screen theaters by musician James Hood.
The center just hosted a Valentine’s Day show for couples, titled “Night Under the Stars,” where staff served food to guests, played love songs and offered them the experience of watching a full-dome show.
Other upcoming events include an afternoon solar eclipse viewing event on April 8 that will have several viewing stations and an upcoming Earth Day morning event on April 13, featuring hands-on activities to promote conservation, lessons about the importance of recycling, a wetland water monitoring lesson and an electric car show.
According to Wilson, the science center’s “Space in the Community” event has always been one of its largest. The event usually takes place on a summer evening in August and allows local families to meet a retired astronaut and do STEM activities. This event has been held annually since 2015, with the exception of years impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our Science on a Sphere is NOAA technology that grabs satellite images that we then can use on our globe as part of our lessons. We create a lot of in-house content, so that involves using code, graphics, etc.,” Wilson remarked.
She measures the success of the science center in the community that they have built.
“Our success is measured by the loyal following of families that we have developed over the years. These families participate in every event, and they bring other families with them,” Wilson said. “I have student employees that I first met when they were 7 years old attending a camp and/or family event. I feel we are successful because children look forward to coming to see us, parents appreciate and trust in our efforts in educating their children and the community considers us a resource.”
Wilson said the center also runs a Junior Space Entrepreneurship Program during the summer with the help of the Space Foundation. The camp serves high school students and focuses on the aerospace industry and business.
“Three years ago, there was a student that was not a willing participant. Mom made him come. By the end of the first week, he was all in,” Wilson said. “Last year, he saw me and he said he wanted to thank me for not letting him quit camp last summer. He said he did not realize how good he was in STEM and that he actually liked it.”
Encouraging students to pursue their dreams no matter the circumstance, Wilson said that a former astronaut who visited shared a poor report card of theirs to show that students can still attain their dreams despite failures.
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