STEMComm takes Atlanta Science Festival…
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of being a part of a very special presentation: The Devil Wears Science! (I am still obsessed with the name) This was my first time being a part of STEMComm during the Spring semester, which meant that I could finally attend the much-anticipated Atlanta Science Festival that our VIP participates in every year! I was ecstatic to finally see the show with my own eyes and even be an important part of it. I couldn’t be more thankful for the group of people that made this possible, it was truly incredible to watch it unfold. I am also super proud of the models that Dr. Mendelson found in his Ecuadorian friend and her daughters, they truly truly stole the entire show!! They displayed traditional Ecuadorian clothes while also showing off their very-own tagua nut jewelry. Everyone at the show loved their performance from start to end!
My Team!
I had the honor of being a part of the Nutty for Tagua team made up of myself, Julia Raver, and Dr. Joe Mendelson. With the whole theme of our science show being centered around sustainable fashion, Dr. Mendelson conjured up the idea of focusing on what is being coined “vegan ivory”. The presentation was on tagua nuts, a fascinating type of nut indigenous to South America that has the ability to mimic elephant ivory. We brought this idea to life by creating a presentation about the tagua nut’s background history, its sacred meaning and physical makeup, and its uses.
The tagua nut itself is grown in places like Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru and has been a significant part of the culture and economy of South America. The nut represents sacred, feminine energy and harmony among the indigenous people in these areas and has different uses depending on the nut’s maturity. At the very beginning of the nut’s life, it falls from the trees onto the floor and is collected to be carved, polished, and dyed. Right after sprouting, the nuts are soft enough to eat, with a sweet and pulpy taste. After hardening though, the texture turns so hard that it requires a saw to cut through! What makes the nut so special is that they closely resemble the ivory that elephants have in their tusks. They have a similar chemical makeup as wood as they are made up of dead-walled cells. The nuts can be turned into beautiful jewelry like necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more. Not only used for adornment but they can also be fashioned into things like buttons and guitar picks. In fact, tagua nuts were utilized during the Civil War for the buttons of US soldiers’ uniforms since the material was cheaper than metal and ceramic.
Elephant Ivory Dupe?
With the poaching of elephant tusks and the illegal trade that has been going on since the 1980s, it has become more important now than ever that an alternative is presented. Although there are bans on poaching, they are not stopping the slaughter of the world’s biggest land mammal, the African elephant. Tagua nuts have created a glimmer of hope for the elephants’ survival since there would be no reason to continue killing the animals with a viable ivory option available. The tagua nut has been called a friend of elephants, and it truly has been serving as a helping hand to the species. The nuts can be shipped anywhere on Earth to act as a substitute for ivory, thus humans must stop looking to elephants for ivory, and welcome into the mix tagua nuts!
My Overall Contributions
The Nutty for Tagua team chose me to be the speaker during the actual fashion show, and I knew I had to take the opportunity to shine as a senior STEMComm student. It would be my last time being a part of the VIP team before graduating, so it was extremely special to me to be able to speak. I was definitely nervous about presenting to a crowd since I am not huge on public speaking but knew that I had to stand strong for the rest of the team and represent us well. As a matter of fact, I am especially proud to be a member of STEMComm, so I had to show that in my presentation! After working with Julia on the script and editing it, I got started practicing the five minute speaking bit. I stumbled at first, but finally got comfortable projecting the information confidently. I was ready to present! When the day finally came, Julia got recruited as a last minute model for the beekeeping suit, which meant I was controlling the slideshow and presenting live- it’s harder than it looks! It surely wasn’t perfect, but I am happy with what our team gave to the show, and I could tell the audience enjoyed it too. I had so much fun participating in this event and I can’t wait to come back to attend STEMComm’s future ASF productions. From the backstage production to the music set-up, it was super cool to be a part of.
