All too often, science is considered the polar opposite of arts. Dr. Mae Jemison speaks to the intersection of arts and science, given her own experience, as a dancer, doctor, chemical engineer and first African American female astronaut.
“Many people,” she wrote, “do not see a connection between science and dance, but I consider them both to be expressions of the boundless creativity that people have to share with one another.” (New York Times, September 16, 1992)
When Dr. Jemison flew on Space Shuttle Endeavor, she took an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater poster on board. While students (and their parents) may believe that they will have to choose between arts and science in order to be successful, Dr. Jeminson provides an example of someone who creatively intertwined both.
