On a Tuesday afternoon in late January, True taught several children how to make their own crystals at The Scholar Ship, a science lab where children learn by doing.
“I’m a big fan of rocks,” 7-year-old Marlee Mussett said.
This is one reason True is devoting an entire week to crystals at the upcoming spring break camp in March.
True, who lives in the Northwest Austin neighborhood of Rattan Creek, opened The Scholar Ship in December 2015 as a part-retail, part-lab business designed to get more children interested in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.
The Scholar Ship offers lab time for parties, groups or after-school learning. True also hosts camps during school breaks and a kids night out.
The self-proclaimed nerd who grew up with a physicist father said she spent 20 years working for organizations, such as NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health as a “geek translator,” breaking down complicated science explanations into easy-to-understand terms.
“There is a lot of stuff we do [at The Scholar Ship] that I knew nothing about at the time but I knew it would be a great idea,” True said. “I spent lots of time messing up, trying something dozens and dozens of times and researching the science behind it.”
This aspect of science, failure, is a concept she makes sure to include in each lesson and camp.
“I also like to teach them failure, too,” True said. “In every camp I always have something that’s challenging that never works the first try.”Later in 2017, True plans to convert the retail section into a multileveled play zone for younger children as well as add a traverse rock wall.
In 2016, True turned her back room in to an escape room in which children have to find clues to solve puzzles. She offers several scenarios of escape challenges for two age groups: one for younger children and one for teenagers.
“I’m the only one in town that does it strictly for kids,” True said. “They get to stretch their muscles in their brains they’ve never stretched before.”
