The next scientist in my Wonderful Women in STEM series is the pioneering Mary Anning!

Mary Anning has been named one of the 10 most influential British women in science history by the Royal Society. Mary was a trailblazer in her time and made invaluable contributions to palaeontology despite having no formal education and being a woman at a time when female scientists were almost unheard of.

Mary is now recognised as one of the first and most important palaeontologists in history.

Who was Mary Anning?

Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, England. Lyme Regis is part of a stretch of coastline known as the Jurassic Coast, which is famous for fossils. Mary and her father collected and sold shells and fossils to tourists to supplement their income. At the time, nobody really knew what the fossils were. Mary was curious about the fossils she found. She sketched and made notes of her discoveries and became an expert in prehistoric creatures.

Mary Anning (1799-1847), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1812, Mary discovered a complete Ichthyosaurus.

In 1823, she discovered the first complete Plesiosaurus.

In 1824 Mary realised that bezoar stones were fossilised dinosaur poo.

Mary opened a shop called Annings Fossil Depot in 1826. At the time, it was unusual for women to have a business.

In 1828, Mary discovered a pterosaur.

Mary faced many difficulties and obstacles in her life and career. She was from a poor family with no formal education, which meant she couldn't join scientific societies or attend university lectures, and she wasn't always fully credited for her findings.

Mary sadly died of breast cancer in 1847 at age 47.

In 2022, a statue of Mary Anning was unveiled in Lyme Regis to celebrate the achievements of this remarkable woman.

Make a model ammonite

Ammonites were sea creatures that lived before and at the same time as dinosaurs. They were a bit like a modern-day squid or octopus with a shell. Ammonite fossils have been found all over the world and are common in the Lyme Reis area.

You'll need

Air drying clay

Clay tool

How to make a clay ammonite

Roll the clay into a long sausage shape and coil it up like a snail's shell.

Use a clay tool to make marks along the spiral.

Leave to dry.

Mary Anning Fact File

I now have two versions of my Mary Anning Fact File. One is slightly less detailed and easier to read, with a separate page for the activity.

What is a palaeontologist?

A palaeontologist is a scientist who studies fossils.

What is a fossil?

Fossils are the preserved remains of animals and plants that lived long ago. They form over millions of years when minerals fill the spaces in skeletons and footprints left by prehistoric creatures.

When was the word dinosaur first used?

The word dinosaur was first used by a palaeontologist named Richard Owen in 1842. The name comes from the Greek word Deinos, which means terrible, and Saurus, which means lizard.

What is a bezoar?

Bezoars are fossilised poo, also known as coprolite. They are trace fossils, which means they are not part of an animal body. Scientists can determine which animal it is from by looking at the coprolite's size, shape, and location. By studying the content of the fossilised poo, scientists can discover a lot about the animal's diet. Mary was one of the first people to look inside a bezoar.

This post is part of my wonderful women in STEM series.

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Next up in my inspirational women series is Amelia Earhart! As usual, there is a free downloadable fact file and several activities linked to Amelia's achievements at the bottom of the post.

Amelia Earhart was the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean. She was a true adventurer, incredibly brave, and an inspiration to women everywhere!

Amelia's first record was rising to a height of 14,000 feet in 1922. She did this in her own plane, nicknamed The Canary.

Amelia wanted to become the first woman and second person to fly across the Atlantic solo, which she attempted on the 20th May 1932. She took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and headed for Paris. Strong winds and cold weather caused mechanical issues, so she didn't quite make it to Paris. However, quick thinking Amelia changed course and landed in a field in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Amelia Earhart didn't stop there. She became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland in 1935. Then in 1937, she attempted a round the world trip. It was on this dangerous journey that Amelia's plane got into trouble, and despite a huge rescue attempt, she was never found.

Activities related to Amelia Earhart

Make paper spinners to learn about gravity!

Design and build a paper plane launcher.

In the early days of aviation it was very important to know how much weight a plane was carrying. Find out how mass and weight are different with some easy activities.

Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls has some brilliant paper plane designs to try!

Or, how about one of my easy experiments you can make fly!

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Inspirational Women in Science

History is full of incredible female scientists. Not only have they made groundbreaking discoveries, but they have also had to fight against gender stereotypes, racial discrimination and the social expectations of their time. Can you imagine being told you couldn't be educated past a certain age because of your gender? Or that you should be a servant, not a scientist, because you were a woman?

Elizabeth Blackwell ( born in 1821 ) applied to 29 medical schools. All of them turned her down because she was a woman.

In 1903, Marie Curie almost didn't receive the Nobel Prize for her work because of her gender.

Katherine Johnson's family moved house so she could attend high school, as her hometown didn't allow African American children to be educated past a certain age.

Mary Anning was not credited for many of her pioneering discoveries until after her death, as she was a woman with no formal education.

These wonderful, trailblazing women have transformed people's ideas of what women can achieve if given the same opportunities as men, helping generations of girls after them achieve their dreams!

Worldwide there's still a tremendous amount of work to do before we achieve gender equality. Even in the richer countries of the world, there's a large gap between the number of men and women working in STEM fields.

According to UNICEF, only 49% of countries in the world have achieved gender parity in primary education, a figure that drops to 24% in upper secondary education.

I've created a series of fact files to celebrate the lives and works of some fantastic female scientists. They lived at different times and faced different difficulties and prejudices, but all have made a massive contribution to our understanding of science today.

Inspirational Female Scientists

I'll keep adding to this collection of women in STEM fact files as often as I can, so do keep popping back!

Each fact file is an A4 sheet with a brief history of the person's life and a mini-science investigation related to their work.

Find out more - Women in STEM

Articles to read

This Women in STEM fields article on Wikipedia is a great overview of current data and statistics for women working in STEM and the difficulties they face.

Read about the changing roles of women in technology with STEM Women.

Films to watch

Hidden Figures

Get ready to be inspired by the work of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson as they play a vital role in the launch of John Glenn into orbit around the Earth.

Hidden Figures is the most incredible story of three driven women battling challenges from all angles.

Radioactive

Radioactive tells the story of Marie Curie. Her bravery and brilliance during difficult times are nothing short of incredible.

Outbreak

This one is fictional, but my daughter has been massively inspired by Rene Russo's character Dr. Roberta Keogh, who works as a scientist for the CDC. Outbreak is a great movie for anyone interested in viruses and how they spread. It is a little gory in places, though, so be mindful of the age rating.

Books about Women in STEM

There are many, many wonderful books about inspirational women scientists. Some of my favourites are below. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

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As a mother of two daughters ( and two sons ) and someone who has always loved science, I am passionate about educating all my children about how women have been responsible for many of the world's most groundbreaking scientific discoveries.

Books are a wonderful way to learn about inspirational women, so I've pulled together a list of my favourites.

Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories

We're big fans of all Kate Pankhurst books, but this one is my favourite so far. Fantastically Great Women Scientists and their Stories tells the stories of some of the most inspiring female scientists in an easy to read and often humorous manner, including comic strips, maps and family trees.

Women featured: Mae Jemison, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell, Janaki Ammal, Caroline Herschel, Katia Krafft, Tu Youyou and Rosalind Franklin.

We also very much enjoyed Fantastically Great Women Who Saved the Planet, also by Kate Pankhurst.

Marie Curie and Her Daughters

This book is just beautiful. It's big and feels very special to hold. The illustrations are great and the story of Marie Curie and her Daughters is wonderfully inspiring. Marie lived at a time when it was very hard for a woman to become a scientist but she followed her passion and her daughters grew up to be just as independent and determind as their mother!

Discover how these three incredible and strong women save lives, win Nobel prizes and overcome tragedies.

A must read for everyone.

You can also download my FREE Marie Curie Fact File, which includes a science activity related to her work.

Women in Science

Women in Science is another beautifully illustrated book telling the stories of 50 inspirational women in science. The books gives a brief overview of each scientist including infographics and facts and figures. The book profiles Jane Goodall, Katherine Johnson, Marie Curie, Mary Anning, Patricia Bath and lots more.

Little People, Big Dreams

The Little People, Big Dreams range of books is just beautiful and includes scientists such as Mary Anning, Jane Goodall, Amelia Earhart and almost every scientist ( male and female you can think of ).

Board books for very young children and hardcover versions for older children are available. These mini biographies are great for curious young minds!

Mae Among the Stars

Reach for the stars with this beautiful picture book about Mae Jemison. Mae Among the Stars is a wonderfully empowering read-aloud book for young readers.

Who Says Women Can't be Doctors

Who Says Women Can't be Doctors tells the story of Elizabeth Blackwell's journey to becoming a doctor at a time when women were supposed to be wives and mothers, and career options were very limited.

This beautifully illustrated book is written in a lively, uplifting, and engaging manner, sure to inspire girls everywhere.

Can you recommend any more great books about women in science for us?

Some of the above have been sent as review items, and some I have bought.

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Today's Women in STEM spotlight is the wonderful Ada Lovelace!! Ada was a mathematician who is thought to have written the world's first computer program 100 years before the first computer was made! She also correctly predicted the future possibilities of computers, including creating music and graphics.

When you consider that Ada lived in a time when girls were not generally educated, her achievements are even more incredible.

Ada was born in England to Lord and Lady Byron. Her father was a poet and her mother a mathematician. Ada was brought up by her mother who encouraged her to study maths and science. Ada demonstrated a natural aptitude for the subjects.

Ada married William King in 1835 and became the Countess of Lovelace three years later when William was made an Earl.

Ada met a young mathematician and engineer named Charles Babbage when she was 17. Ada was fascinated by Babbage's ideas, especially his plans for a machine named the analytical engine that would handle complex calculations. Babbage was so impressed by Ada that he asked her to translate an article about the analytical engine written by an Italian engineer.

Ada translated the article and also added pages of her own notes. Ada's work was published in 1843. The analytical engine was nothing like the computers of today. It was a large, clunky machine programmed using punched cards!

Unfortunately, the analytical engine was never finished, and Ada's notes were forgotten about until they were found and republished in 1953.

Ada very sadly died from cancer in 1852, aged just 36. She left behind an impressive legacy. Ada Lovelace Day is held on the second Tuesday of October each year and is an international celebration of the achievements of women in STEM.

Ada Lovelace fact file and activity

I now have two versions of my ADA Lovelace fact file and activity. The second is slightly simplified and has the activity and code template on the second page.

Activities related to Ada Lovelace

Try some coding with scratch.

Code and create with a Makey Makey. This giant operation game is a good example.

More Wonderful Women in STEM

Learn about the work of Marie Curie.

Find out about the inspirational Amelia Earhart.

Marie M. Daly completed groundbreaking research about the heart and circulatory system.

Rosalind Franklin helped decipher the double helix structure of DNA

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Today's inspirational female scientist is the wonderful Rosalind Franklin. Rosalind Franklin is probably best known for not getting the credit she deserved for her part in the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Rosalind's work on DNA was only one part of her impressive career. She also conducted pioneering work on the structure of viruses!

Rosalind Franklin's X-ray images of DNA played a huge part in discovering its double helix structure. The twisted ladder shape allows DNA strands to hold huge amounts of information.

Rosalind Franklin Life and Career

Rosalind Franklin was born in London and studied physics and chemistry at Newnham Women's College at Cambridge University. In 1964, she moved to Paris, where she became skilled in X-ray crystallography, using it to find the structure of different carbons.

Rosalind moved back to London in 1951, where she worked at King's College studying DNA. In May 1952, Rosalind took the infamous photo 51, which showed the X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA.

Rosalind's image formed a crucial part of James Watson and Frances Crick's ( who were studying DNA at the same time ) discovery of the double helix structure. Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins (who she worked with ) were credited in Watson and Crick's paper about their findings, but unfortunately, Rosalind died of ovarian cancer before Watson, Crick, and Wilkins received their Nobel Prize. Nobel prizes are never awarded posthumously.

After Cambridge, Rosalind moved to Birkbeck College, London, where she led a team who decoded the structure of the tobacco mosaic virus!

What happened next?

Rosalind Franklin may have missed out on a Nobel prize but she left behind a huge legacy. She received her PhD from Cambridge at a time when there were very few women chemists. She was often the only female presenter at scientific conferences and had to fight for the same status and pay as her male colleagues.

A UK-built Mars Rover, which visited Mars in 2021 to search for signs of life, has been named Rosalind Franklin, a fitting tribute to an inspirational scientist who helped decipher the building blocks of life on Earth.

Free Rosalind Franklin Fact File

Activity related to Rosalind Franklin's work

Make an edible DNA model!

This activity uses toothpicks or cocktail sticks, jelly tots and red liquorice sticks to make a double-helix DNA model.

More inspirational women scientists

Make models of elements and learn about the work of Marie Curie.

Find out about the wonderful and immensely brave Amelia Earhart.

Marie M. Daly completed groundbreaking research on the effects of diet on the heart and circulatory system.

• Image Credit - By Jewish Chronicle Archive/Heritage-Images http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/217394/99712/Rosalind-Franklin, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24959067
• References - https://www.rosalindfranklin.edu

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The next scientist in my wonderful women in science series is the brilliant Marie Curie. Being a woman in the 1800s wasn't easy, and Marie had to overcome many hurdles before even starting her career in science.

Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win one in two fields ( Chemistry and Physics ). She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium and invented mobile X-ray units, which took more than a million X-rays of soldiers in World War 1.

Marie Curie grew up in Warsaw, Poland and later moved to France to study at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was here where she met her husband Pierre Curie. They shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of radium and polonium from pitchblende.

Marie received the 1911 Nobel Prize for producing radium as a pure metal and for her work on radioactive compounds.

Marie faced many struggles on her journey to becoming a scientist. When she was growing up, Poland was under the control of Russia and people were not allowed to read or write anything in Polish. Her sister Zofia died from typhus when Marie was 10, and her mother died from tuberculosis two years later. In the 1800s, Universities in Poland didn't allow women to attend. Marie worked to help fund her sister through University in France ( where women were allowed ) before starting her own studies.

Marie Curie died on the 4th of July, 1934, from aplastic anaemia, thought to be caused by exposure to large amounts of radiation while doing her research.

Marie's daughter, Irene, also won a Nobel Prize. Irene and her husband Frederic Joliot discovered how to make radioactive atoms artificially! Irene died at the age of 59 from leukaemia caused by years of exposure to radiation.

Science activities related to Marie Curie's work

Make edible models of greenhouse gases ( you can use the same method to make other molecules, too! )

Make a model spine and other bone themed learning activities.

Paint a hand print X-Ray like The Pinterested Parent.

Make an edible DNA model.

Finally, this X-Ray Play Dough is brilliant from I Can Teach My Child.

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Marie Daly was an American biochemist and the first African-American woman to receive a Chemistry PhD in the United States. Marie's groundbreaking work led to a new understanding of how diet affects the human circulatory system.

Marie was fascinated by the human body. After her PhD, she worked on a seven-year research program on how proteins are constructed at the Rockefeller Institute of Medicine. She returned to Columbia University in 1955 and, after that, to the Albert Einstein College in New York, where she worked on the relationship between high cholesterol, blood pressure, and clogged arteries.

Marie was one of the first people to research the effects of cigarette smoking on the lungs.

In addition to her own research, Marie taught biochemistry courses while encouraging and supporting minority students to enrol in medical and science programs. In 1988, she founded a scholarship for minority students wanting to study science at Queen's College in New York.

Marie's achievements are all the more incredible when you consider that she was educated at a time when a college education was thought to be impossible for many African American students.

Fact file and Activity

I have two versions of the Fact File, one of which is slightly simplified and has the activity on a second page.

Activities related to Marie Daly's work

Create a model of a pumping heart. All you need for this is a jar, a balloon and two straws.

Find out how exercise affects heart rate with this fun investigation.

Make a simple stethoscope with a funnel and cardboard tube.

Draw the inside of the human body on a giant piece of paper.

We love this brilliant 3D blood model from Steamsational and can't wait to try it!

More inspirational female scientists

Read about Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale, Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson and more amazing women in STEM with the full series of fact files and activities.

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Welcome to the first post in a new series about inspirational women scientists. Throughout history, women have made huge contributions to science, technology, engineering, and maths but have often been overlooked. I'm going to highlight just a few of these pioneering women and share some simple science ideas related to their work.

The first scientist we're going to learn about is the wonderful Katherine Johnson. Katherine's work was mostly unrecognised until very late in her life. She opened doors and created pathways for women and people of colour in STEM fields, leaving behind the most incredible legacy.

At the bottom of this post is a FREE downloadable fact file and suggested activity related to Katherine Johnson's work.

Who was Katherine Johnson?

Katherine Johnson was an African American physicist and mathematician.

She was the first African-American woman to attend graduate school at West Virginia University and is known for her work on the United States aeronautics and space programs.

Katherine was one of the NASA “human computers”. These were women mathematicians who performed calculations that allowed NASA, firstly, to put astronauts safely into orbit and then onto the Moon!

Katherine calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepherd's 1961 space flight, and when computers were first used, it was Katherine who checked that their calculations were correct!

Katherine also worked on the space shuttle program and in the later part of her career spent time inspiring students to follow STEM Careers.

Katherine worked for NASA for over 30 years before retiring in 1986. She passed away in February 2020 at the age of 101.

Space Activity Ideas

Straw Rockets

Make a straw rocket to investigate how changing the launch angle of a straw rocket changes the flight trajectory.

A similar type of rocket can be made using foam and cardboard or a wider segment of straw sealed at one end.

Space Camp

Create a DIY Space Camp with homemade rockets, stargazing, and lots more space-themed investigations. This is great fun to do over a few days during the summer holidays or when camping!

More activities related to Katherine Johnson

The NASA website has some brilliant ideas for activities related to Katherine Johnson that we can't wait to try!

My book This IS Rocket Science contains 70 space themed science experiments perfect for learning about the incredible engineering and science needed for space travel.

I've put together a printable fact file for you to download, too!

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The next scientist in my Wonderful Women in STEM series is Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale was a British nurse whose work was hugely influential in changing how hospitals were run and improving cleanliness, nutrition and sanitation. Florence Nightingale's achievements are truly remarkable, she fought against the social expectations of her time to become a nurse and hugely improved the quality of patient care.

Who was Florence Nightingale?

Florence is considered to be the founder of modern nursing. The soldiers she cared for during the Crimean War called her The Lady with the Lamp as she worked all night looking after them.

Florence was the first women to be given the Order of Merit, the first women to become a member of the Royal Statistical Society ( because of her skills with numbers and presenting data ) and also received The Royal Red Cross.

A brief history of Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, to wealthy, influential British parents. She grew up in Britain and was homeschooled by her father. Social expectations of the time meant she was expected to marry and raise a family from a young age, but Florence wanted to become a nurse. Her parents didn't approve, but eventually, Florence was allowed to train at a hospital in Germany.

She returned to England in 1853 to work in a hospital, where she was promoted to superintendent within a year. In 1954, the Secretary of War asked her to take a team of nurses to Constantinople to help injured soldiers in the Crimean War.

Thanks to the work of Florence and her team, the death rate in the military hospital dropped dramatically.

Back in London, Florence founded the Nightingale School of Nursing. She continued her work improving medical practice until her death in 1910.

Florence Nightingale's legacy very much lives on. International Nurses Day is celebrated on Florence's birthday each year and the Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award for outstanding nursing.

The recent Nightingale hospitals set up in the UK for Covid patients were aptly named after an incredible woman whose reforms in hospitals and public health saved thousands of lives.

Hand hygiene activity

Children can learn about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of germs with a simple hand washing activity.

You'll need

Bio-glitter

Hand cream

Water and soap

Paper towel

Instructions - hand washing activity

Split the children into pairs and ask one child from each pair to rub hand lotion into their hands.

Sprinkle a little glitter onto the hand with hand lotion and ask the children to shake hands. They should see that they both now have glitter on their hands.

Ask both children to try to remove the glitter using just a paper towel. Does it work?

Next, try washing with just water, followed by water and soap, to see which method of hand washing is most effective.

Another way to carry out this activity is for each pair of children to try a different method of washing their hands to see which removes the most glitter!

Florence Nightingale Fact File

Grab the free printable fact file and activity below!

I also have an easier to read two page version available.

References

MLA - Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Florence Nightingale." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2019. Date accessed.

Chicago - Alexander, Kerri Lee. "Florence Nightingale." National Women's History Museum. 2019. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/florence-nightingale.

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