An estimated one million jobs a year in the future will require a science or technology background, according to Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Raikes spoke Tuesday to a sold-out crowd of about 300 local businesspeople at the seventh annual Foundations of Science Breakfast.

Carol Kessler, Director of the Board of Directors for the Science Center, kicks off the event

Raikes, the event’s keynote speaker, urged audience members to donate to the Pacific Science Center, as well as support STEM education. He stressed the importance of increasing education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), adding that a much needed resurrection and change in education was necessary.

Jeff Raikes, ceo of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks to the crowd.

“We need the STEM movement if we hope to write a different story about our future,” Raikes said.

His speech revolved around the idea that science will be essential to the success of kids today in the workplace. Coming from a small town in Nebraska, Raikes imparted stories of his mother, who was also his seventh grade teacher, as well as one of his first college professors at Stanford, who helped inspire him to learn and work hard. He believes this kind of inspiration dramatically changed his life, and should be universal to all children.

“Every single one of our projects [with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation], no matter where it’s located, originates from the same idea,” Raikes said. “That every person deserves the chance – the opportunity – at a healthy and productive life.”

Three other speakers made it clear that the Science Center can and does act as an entity that gives children an inspiring look at this important field of study.

Ellen Lettvin, vice president for Science and Education at the Center, led the audience through a mini-science experiment that tested the tongue’s ability to detect salinity levels. With six small tubes of water ranging from very salty to plain water, participants tasted each sample and were able to generally detect which ones were saltier.

This small example showed how science can very easily be made interactive and fun.

However, as Bryce Seidel, president and CEO of the Pacific Science Center, noted in his speech, science education is seriously lacking with today’s students. He said innovation in the teaching of this field is in need of great repair and Washington state in particular is falling behind.

“Our state offers the fewest number of minutes in science instruction in the fourth grade classroom of any of the 50 states,” Seidel said. “Only about half of our eighth graders meet the standard for math and science.”

To help solve problems like these, Raikes announced a projected summer opening of a STEM Center in the McKinstry Innovation Center in south Seattle. This development is intended to reinvigorate science education and support future innovation in schools, including the new STEM program introduced at Cleveland High School.

The Pacific Science Center estimates that they have raised more than $100,000 from this event, although final numbers aren’t in. This is a ten-percent increase over last year.