Do You Know These Women in Science?
March is National Women’s Month and National Science Month. So, what better way to celebrate than with a post all about women in science? You’ll find plenty of STEM Activities for Teens along with books and the names of the women throughout this post Do You Know These Women in Science?
This is is by no means exhaustive, but it will give you a place to start. Let’s learn about these women and their contributions to science while learning about their science.
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Who Are the Famous Women in STEM?
My guess is you can think of at least one or two women famous for their contributions to (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) STEM fields.
But I’m also guessing you could use some help with this, so here’s my list of famous women that you can study with your teens.
Learn about these women and their science!
- Rosalind Franklin– an x-ray crystallographer whose images led to the discovery of the structure of DNA
- Marie Curie– discovered radium and polonium and is the only person in history to win both a Nobel prize in physics and chemistry
- Beatrix Potter– artist, mycologist, naturalist, and author
- Mileva Einstein-Maric– Enstein’s first wife who was a mathematician made significant contributions to his work
- Sally Ride– first woman in space
- Elizabeth Blackwell– first American woman physician
- Chien-Shuing Wu– American experimental physicist who made contributions to physics and was a part of the Manhattan Project.
- Ada Lovelace– developed the basics of computer programming long before computers
- Lise Meitner– mother of nuclear power who worked with radioactivity and nuclear physics and has an element named after her
- Barbara McClintock– discovered “jumping genes” in corn
- Hedy Lamar– her work led to the development of radar and bluetooth. She was also a Hollywood actress!
- Katherine Johnson– she was a mathematician who worked on the Apollo moon missions
- Williamena Fleming– was a maid to Edward Pickering who was the di
- Grace Marie Hopper– made the first compiled machine independent computer programming language. She was a main force in the development of COBOL which is still in use today.
- Mae Jamison– first African American woman in space. She was also a physician.
- Rachel Carson– writer who made significant contributions to environmental science
- Annie Jump Cannon- American astronomer specialized in the classification of stellar spectra and the first woman to get an honorary doctorate from Oxford and the first woman recipient of Academy of Sciences and the first woman officer of the American Astronomical Society.
- Edith Clarke– American electrical engineer who specialized in power systems and designing dams. She was a designer of the Hoover Dam.
- Katherine Burr Blodgett– American physicist and chemist. First woman PhD in physics from Cambridge who worked on low reflectance glass known as invisible improving eyeglasses, camera lenses, and deicing of aircraft.
- Marjorie Stoneman Douglas– journalist and environmentalist who worked on conservation and saved the Everglades, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Great Books about Women in STEM
- Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race– developed CRISPR which is a DNA sequencer and gene editing technology, with a collaborator
- Einstein’s Wife: The Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Maric– the researched story of Einstein’s wife and her own pursuit of science at a time when women did not pursue higher degrees and especially not in science and math.
- Listening to Crickets: A Story about Rachel Carson– although for young readers, this book tells the story of Rachel Carson and the birth of modern Environmental Science.
- Marie Curie’s Search for Radium– another book for younger students that gets to the heart of her work
- Hidden Figures: The American Dream & the Untold Story of Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race- this is a great one which is also a movie.
Resources for Celebrating Women in STEM
Art & Nature Study with Beatrix Potter– one of my most popular posts of all time! This is a study my daughter and I did while she was in high school. Lots of resources here along with some activities.
Microscopic Marvels: Explorations in Historical & Modern Microscopy– in this self paced lab science course, you’ll have the chance to learn about the contributions of women in STEM as we learn about scientists throughout the course.
Women in STEM! More than 60 Scientists & Engineers for Women’s History Month– from sciencebuddies.org where you’ll find a list of women and their contributions, plus links to related activities.
Girls & Women in STEM from the Smithsonian Science Education Center– this site has labs and activities of all kinds, so I encourage you to browse the site beyond this link which is to some science activities developed by women in STEM and they are suitable for all grades through high school.
Famous Women in Science & Art– from Little Bins for Little Hands. You’ll find a variety of activities and challenges for roughly 10 women in STEM along with information pages about each of the women.
STEM Activities to Celebrate Women’s History Month– you’ll find a list of successful women scientists, engineers, computer programmers, and mathematicians to study and take a look at their body of work.
More Middle & High School Science through Biography
This is one of our favorite ways to teach science, even for this science educator! Our youngest is a huge math and science student and preferred to learn this way.
How to Teach Science through the Lives of Scientists– this is a popular post and my go to for sharing how we teach science through the people who did the big science.
The Benefits of Teaching High School STEM through Storytelling– this post tells the story! ha! Learn more about how we used books to teach science concepts.
The Big List of Awesome Living Books for Homeschooling Science– the is a huge book list with books relating to every discipline of STEM.
