Edmonds Scouts Get Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar to Speak at Science Event

Former astronaut, University of Washington graduate and science education advocate Dr. Bonnie Dunbar will be the featured speaker at a Discover STEM! event organized by Edmonds’ Girl Scout Troop 41002, om Saturday at Einstein Middle School in Shoreline.

The event is designed to encourage interest in STEM education - science, technology, engineering and math -- among grade school students and will include a variety of fun activities and exhibits. Those include an egg drop, harnessing solar energy, extracting DNA and lots more.

The event is sold out and a packed house of some 400 is expected, mostly fourth- and fifth-grade girls, said Heather Fitzpatrick, Troop 41002 leader.

Dunbar recently took a job at the University of Houston, but is making the trip back for the event.

“We’re tickled she is honoring her commitment,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re just thrilled to have her. Bonnie is a fantastic speaker.”

The 14 girls of Troop 41002 have done most of the event organizing themselves over the past year, Fitzpatrick said. Troop 41002 is based in Edmonds, but includes girls from Shoreline and Lynnwood.

Dunbar has long been an advocate for STEM education, speaking on that topic to a banquet of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation In Kirkland in 2011. She is a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions.