Dr. Lonnie Johnson, history-making inventor and entrepreneur is hosting his fundraising gala the Sneaker Ball benefiting the Johnson STEM Activity Center (JSAC) on September 12th.
The Johnson STEM Activity Center is a nonprofit located near Grady Memorial Hospital in Southeast Atlanta that provides hands-on STEM education through robotics, mentorship, and year-round programming for young people in the community. What began as just robotics has evolved into a center with virtual reality, AI, coding and more
Dr. Johnson is deeply committed to giving back to Atlanta's youth, and this event is a meaningful opportunity to amplify that mission and we are excited that he joins us today to speak about his work.
I asked Dr. Johnson how the his JSAC came into being and he explains that as a child he formed a lifelong passion to tinker, take things apart, build new things. Best known as the inventor of the Super Soaker the activity center started as a joint intiative with the 100 Black Men of Atlanta and centered around robotics. Over the years it has grown beyond the partnership to encompass students from Atlanta Public School and other schools.
I asked about the creativity that is an innate part of engineering that many people miss. He speaks about children being curious about how things work and that adult shouldn’t dampen that spirit. Johson says that all humans are problem solvers. Johnson speaks about teaching himself to learn. It might seem that the ability to do mathematics is natural, everyone has to tap into continuous learning. Just because something isn’t easy it doesn’t meant you can’t learn to master the challenge. Johnson shared his thoughts about AI and technology that continues to deconstruct what we know as work.
To support the work of this Johnson STEM Activity Center, Johnson’s proudest accomplishment the Sneaker Ball Gala takes place on September 12th. The young people at the academy will showcase their work. For tickets go to this link.
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