Engineers straight out of college can make a starting salary of more than $50,000 a year, but that is not what Joaquin Delgado, an elementary school student, thinks about.

“You do not know how badly I am a nerd,” Delgado said. “I just love science … It’s just so cool what you can do.”

Delgado sat with his parents during “Noche de Ciencias” (science night) on Tuesday to learn about how to become a scientist.

This is the fourth year Wichita State’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers has hosted a science night sponsored by the National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

More than 100 parents and K-12 students sat around round tables in the cafeteria of North High School listening to panelists.

Amy Delgado wants to keep her son excited about school.

For many parents, this night gives them an opportunity to learn how to give their kids a brighter future.  

Wichita State alumna Fernanda Quezada remembers the reaction of one parent last year who said, “If we support our kids, they are going to be better than we are.”

Quezada said the event is a national initiative to inform parents about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, and encourage students to keep learning.  

“A lot of the time, parents are not very informed about how they can help their kids with financial aid and admissions, so it’s kind of hard for the students to say, ‘I am going to go to college or do this career,’” said Denisse Cadena, a junior studying mechanical engineering at WSU.

Norman Bent, director of diversity and inclusion for the Engineering Student Success Center at WSU, spoke about the importance of STEM careers. Panelists included two professionals, two college students, one high school student and a parent.

Bent asked three children in the front row what they want to study. One by one they replied, “helicopters, tanks and mathematics.”

Later in the evening, parents went to informational sessions in English and Spanish to learn about financial aid and the admissions process while students participated in hands-on activities led by members of SHPE.

High school students made a plasma cutter and younger students made balloon rockets and built boats.

Participants could enter a drawing and win prizes including calculators, water bottles, T-shirts, books and admission to an engineering summer camp. Spirit Aerosystems, Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation, and Shocker Racing also had information tables.

At the end of the night, Joaquin Delgado just hopes someone can tell him why his volcano is not glowing.

“I made my own volcano from vinegar and baking soda, but I can’t seem to get it to glow,” Joaquin said.

His mom, however, is thinking long term.

“This community in particular needs stuff like [“Noche de Ciencias”] to show the kids what they can do and can become and apply themselves,” Amy Delgado said.