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    Did you know that Latinos make up 14 percent of the U.S. population, but only 3 percent of U.S. scientists and engineers?

    To help remedy this situation, the Self-Reliance Foundation in Los Angeles has created Celebra la Ciencia (Celebrate Science), which works with museums, businesses and universities to expose more Latino kids to scientific fields through science fairs and other events.

    The program’s bilingual web site includes links to fun science web sites to kids, such as Net Frog, which lets you dissect frogs online, and Engineer Girl, which encourage young women to pursue engineering careers.

    You can learn more about the program and listen to radio segments about it at http://www.celebralaciencia...

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Minority golfers have their own magazine

    A growing number of ethnic minorities are taking up golf, and the magazine The Green is telling their stories.

    Hispanics, African Americans and Asians now comprise 15 percent of the 6 million Americans who play golf regularly, according to the magazine published by Vision Media.

    The Green was started in 2004 by Rafael Martinez, who grew up in the Dominican Republic, and his Guatemalan wife, Ina Samuels-Martinez.   The magazine has grown to a circulation of 150,000 golfers and has featured George Lopez, Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Jordan and other well-known minority golfers on the cover.

    “Our goal is to show the world that we people of color also play golf and like the finer things in life,” Rafael Martinez said in an interview with Hispanic Trends magazine.

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First Hispanic in Congress

    The first Hispanic elected to Congress was Joseph Marion Hernandez of Florida, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1822.

    Martinez was born Aug. 4, 1793 in St. Augustine, Fla., then a Spanish colony.  In 1793 he transferred his allegiance to the United States and upon the formation of Florida Territory was elected as a Delegate to the 17th Congress.   Martinez served in Congress from September 30, 1822, to March 3, 1823.

    He died in Cuba on June 8, 1857, and was entombed at San Carlos Cemetery, Matanzas, Cuba.

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