March is Women’s History Month, so it’s a great time for kids and adults alike to learn more about women in history that we should already know about.
Talking about women in STEM is popular because it’s a field that’s only going to continue to grow and girls aren’t always exposed to it as a career option for them, or they don’t see stories about women in STEM they can aspire to.
The book She Can STEM by Liz Lee Heinecke introduces readers to 50 women in science from throughout history to show that women have always been a part of biology, chemistry, ecology and physics.
Each person highlighted is given a two-page spread, with a full-page illustration and a page long biography exploring their role in science, where they lived and how scientists do similar work today. There’s also a STEM related idea for readers to try.
For example the first woman in the book, Tapputi-Belaktikallim, was the manager of a royal household in ancient Mesopotamia, who also made perfume for the royal family, making her the world’s first known chemical engineer. The experiment asks readers to crush flowers to release their essential oils, which would have been done to make ancient perfumes.
Some of these scientists are people you’ve probably heard of, like Marie Curie, Rachel Carson and Rosalind Franklin, but most of them are names you probably don’t know (unless you’re a scientist). To name a few chosen at random:
- Mary Agnes Chase, an expert in grasses who traveled the world and documented more than 20,000 species of grass
- Ruby Payne Scott, an Australian radar expert whose research on sunspots and radio astronomy helped scientists discover black holes and understand the effect solar storms have on earth
- Oceanographer Sylvia Earle, the first woman to lead the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, she’s also the person who has walked deepest in the ocean while untethered
- Valerie L. Thomas, whose illusion transmitter was the forerunner of today’s 3-D technology
- Aparajita Datta, an Indian ecologist whose work showed that hornbill birds were largely responsible for seed dispersion within their habitats, which has led to efforts to protect the birds
- Raychelle Burks, a chemist who developed a chemical sensor similar to the fictional tricorders used on Star Trek
While the biographies of each scientist are brief, they give readers a jumping off point for further learning and scientific experimentation of their own. They might also open up your mind to areas of scientific inquiry you didn’t even know existed, like olfactory chemistry, crystallography and the study of termites.
About the book: 112 pages, hardcover, published 2024 by Quarto Books, suggested retail price $19.99.
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