Museum picks Harris for inaugural scholarship
Hot Springs High School senior Chloe Harris will be introduced tonight as the first recipient of the new Mid-America Science Scholarship Award during the Mid-America Science Museum’s annual Taste of the Holidays fundraiser.
The museum will host visitors for the 16th annual Taste of the Holidays from 6-9 p.m. Advanced tickets are $70 per person or $85 at the door.
Harris plans to major in biology at Hendrix College or Schedler Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway before attending graduate school. She is the daughter of Kristy Wilkerson and Rico Harris.
The scholarship will award $1,000 to Harris. Jim Miller, director of marketing at the museum, said the scholarship could grow in the future in its amount and availability.
The award was open to high school students in the Hot Springs area. Candidates needed to have a grade-point average of 2.5 or higher and have participated in extracurricular activities, such as community volunteer work.
Amy Snider, counselor at Hot Springs High School, reminded Harris and other students about the scholarship two weeks before the Oct. 16 deadline. Harris said she felt the scholarship was perfect for her because it was geared for students with a strong interest in any field of science.
“There were more than a dozen local applicants who applied and they were all extremely qualified, making it a real challenge for the scholarship committee to choose one winner,” said Diane LaFollette, executive director of Mid-America Science Museum.
Harris said she has always enjoyed science, but did not like math much when she was younger. She preferred English and wanted to be an author.
Harris attended Oaklawn Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School. She then went to Lakeside schools for six years until the eighth grade.
“In my high school career I have realized that what I really need to do is something in a science field, because that is what I am good at and I also like it now,” Harris said. “Why not do something you are talented at and that you love? That’s what I am going for.”
Harris has visited the museum several times in her life, include two trips since it was renovated. A $7.8 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and a local match funded the expansion and renovation project.
“It was so cool. I love that kind of stuff,” Harris said. “I have always been really good at science and math. I’m probably the only 17-year-old girl in history that can actually say I love doing math.”
LaFollette sent an email to Harris last week asking her to call the museum.
“She emailed me and I saw it right after school,” Harris said. “I ran home and I waited for my mom to get home, because I wanted her to sit beside me.”
Harris and LaFollette were unable to reach each other for 45 minutes. Harris said she ran upstairs to sit next to her mother again when LaFollette finally reached her again.
“She said, ‘You sound so excited,’” Harris said. “I said, ‘Well I am so excited.’”
LaFollette invited Harris and her family to the program. Harris will be presented with the check and recognized during the event. She said she is nervous for the dinner, but will have her mother and best friend, Maurin McCullough, there for support.
The fundraiser will incorporate science experiments, a kissing camera, dry ice bubbles and other hands-on science activities. One experiment will use a liquid nitrogen cloud to make frozen Cheetos.
The museum’s education staff will offer views of the Milky Way Galaxy in the Oaklawn Foundation Digital Dome Theater. Entertainment will include music by Jacob Flores and the Jay Payette Jazz Trio.
The presenting sponsor of the event is National Park Medical Center. Bear State Bank will serve as the V.I.P. sponsor.
Supporting sponsors are Hot Springs Village and Oaklawn Racing & Gaming. The host sponsor is Triumph Airborne Structures and the patron sponsors are Simmons Bank and First Security Bank.
Friends of the museum sponsors include state Rep. John Vines, D-District 25 and his wife Libby, Gherki Commercial Real Estate, Magic Springs Water and Theme Park, and Zeiser Wealth Management.
Individuals, artists and businesses have donated numerous items for the silent auction. Items include movie tickets, beer festival passes, Disney theme park tickets, St. Louis Cardinals tickets, original art, gift certificates, and hotel rooms.
Vendors will include Ambrosia Bakery, Arkansas Beverage Sales, the Atrium at Serenity Pointe, Bliss Cupcakes, Chef Rosario, Belle Arti, Bleu Monkey Grill, Brickhouse, Bubba’s Brews, Don Juan’s, Gelato Di Superior, the Green Herb, Higdon Square Café, JV Farms, Kent Walker Artisan Cheeses, Kilwins, La Hacienda, Lost Forty Brewing, Next Level BBQ , Porterhouse, Post Familie Wines, Silk’s Bar & Grill, Steinhaus Keller, Stubby’s BBQ, Superior Bathhouse Brewery, The Sweet Tooth Bakery, Tri-Lakes Liquor and Vina Morita.