Nancy Castaldo - STEM Tuesday

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Kirsten W. Larson, author of Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane. “This inspiring work shines a light on a lesser-known inventor who was the first woman to design an airplane,” says School Library Journal. Mary Kay Carson: Tell us a bit about your book Wood, Wire, Wings. How did you come to write it? Kirsten Larson: WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane, illustrated by Tracy Subisak, is the true story of early airplane designer Emma Lilian Todd. Todd was the first woman to design a working airplane on her own, which flew in 1910. That’s only seven years after the Wright Brothers, and she worked during the same period as the Wrights as well as Glenn Curtiss and other notable early aviation pioneers! The idea for that book came straight out of the pages of the best-selling picture book, ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by...

  I’ve always been fascinated by the way the minds of scientists and engineers work. Maybe that’s why I write about them so often, especially women in these fields. One thing that always amazes me is that artists’ minds often work in the same ways, which is our topic for this month. Arts and Sciences: Not Mutually Exclusive Of course, many scientists and engineers are artists in their own right. For example, Einstein was an accomplished musician As his second wife said, “Music helps him when he is thinking about his theories. …He goes to his study, comes back, strikes a few chords on the piano, jots something down, returns to his study.” Einstein also was know to carry his violin, Lina, with him practically everywhere. Inventor Temple Grandin also felt an early connection to the arts. As she writes in the preface to Sy Montgomery’s TEMPLE GRANDIN: How the Girl...

Most people have learned about famous scientists such as Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Sir Isaac Newton. But what do you know about Emma Lilian Todd, Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler, Mae Jemison, and Grace Hopper? These incredible women in science have been pioneers in their fields and inspire future generations of women in science, technology, engineering, and math. This month’s STEM Tuesday theme is Women in Science. Here are a few activities to help students learn more about these extraordinary scientists. Create a Living Museum Make history come alive in the classroom with a living museum. Start by having students read through these books and choose a scientist to research. They can work individually or in pairs or small groups. Science Superstars: 30 Brilliant Women Who Changed the World by Jennifer Calvert, illustrated by Octavia Jackson Exploring the spark of curiosity and the joy these women found in science, as...

Many girls are familiar with only a few names of women in science. Here are a dozen books to inspire our future women in science, technology, engineering, and math. Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford Tracing her discoveries, this gripping, gorgeously spot illustrated biography is a wonderful tribute to this remarkable woman and an honest look at the scientific community that almost waited too long to acknowledge one of the world’s greatest paleontologists and her remarkable contributions. The timeline, author’s note, glossary, current list for locations of Mary’s fossils, source notes, and bibliography round out this great nonfiction middle grade book. Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane by Kirsten W. Larson, illustrated by Tracy Subisak Every now and then we come across a picture book perfect for the 8-10 crowd. This book shows how Lilian Todd grew up in...