Posts Tagged STEMTuesday

STEM Tuesday– Getting Your Comic-on with Great Science Graphic Novels– Writing Tips & Resources

STEM Tuesday’s Gone Graphic

Comics? We don’t need any of that nonsense in STEM.

What was that? No, I did not see the STEM Tuesday “Great Science Graphic Novel” book list for this month.

Bah-humbug! We didn’t have STEM books like that when I was a kid. Textbooks were perfectly fine for us.

No, my name is not STEMbeneezer Scrooge. Now, get off my lawn and leave me be. It’s time for my nap.

Who’s there? I thought I told you to skedaddle.

Aye! It’s a spirit.

Leave me be! I’m just an old STEM guy stuck in my ways. I’m going back to sleep before Wheel of Fortune comes on.

“STEMbeneezer, log on and follow me!”

What in the world? Another STEM spirit!

Smooth, Ghost of STEM Present. Real smooth. But I’m not going to get on the internet to scour bookstores.

Haven’t you heard of online identity theft and spyware?

Jeez, leave me be, I’m going back to sleep. And where do you come up with these “original” names, anyway?

What are you? You must be the Spirit of STEM Future.

Aack! Don’t beam me up, Scotty!  I don’t want to go!

NOOOooo!!!

A hint? For what?

Help meeeeeeee!

Holy bad dreams. What happened? How long have I been asleep?

I know that answer!

Come, on! The answer’s easy.

Graphic storytelling is a great format for STEM books.

I’m a changed man. Textbooks have their place but the graphic novel format really does work well with STEM storytelling.

Graphic storytelling + STEM = Natural match

Using graphics to define a STEM concept has been a natural partnership for ages.  I present the evidence.

DaVinci designs are a graphical how-to manual

DaVinci’s water lifting device proposal

A canon design

Galileo’s graphic notes on his observations of Jupiter’s moons

Sir Issac Newton’s Graphic Notes

Illustrated concept from NEWTON’S PRINCIPIA

From Newton’s Notes on Alchemy

A young Isaac Newton’s graphical code listing his sins committed

Chemistry

If you have the reagents, you could probably make your own Vitamin A from this graphical reaction.

Maps of biological pathways

The Krebs Cycle, aka The “I wish I had a dollar for every time I memorized & forgot this pathway in my school days” Cycle.

 

TNF pathway from one of our lab’s publications. It tells the visual story of an E. Coli effector subverting the TNF inflammatory pathway.

Let the evidence show using graphics has worked in STEM since the STEM fields were born.

It’s only natural they work in the field of STEM storytelling, right?

Visual Storytelling

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

UNDERSTANDiNG COMICS: THE INVISIBLE ART by Scott McCloud

This a book you must read whether you are interested in straight graphic storytelling or storytelling in general. It doesn’t matter if the storytelling is fiction or nonfiction, graphic storytelling can be a powerful option for a writer.

Sketchnotes

Sketchnoting is a great way to take notes for the visual-minded individuals. I follow Eva-Lotta Lamm and her work with sketchnotes. She offers a free, downloadable Mini Visual Starter Kit at her website to help you get started with sketchnotes.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you are now convinced that images and STEM go together. The graphic novel format for nonfiction and STEM books not only works, but it fits. Just as architects and engineers use a blueprint drawing to relay information to the contractor and specialists, STEM writers can use graphic storytelling to relay information to the reader.

Still not a believer? Go to the STEM Tuesday book list and give those titles a try. It’s a much less harrowing path than visits from a trio of STEM spirits.

Take it from me. STEM graphic novels and comics are the real deal!

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.comTwo of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.

 


The O.O.L.F Files

The O.O.L.F. Files this month emphasizes the power of visual storytelling in STEM and to celebrate the season, a few links to STEM activities for the holidays. Enjoy!

Superheroes & STEM

Comic Einstein!

More Sketchnoting

Holiday STEM

 


 

STEM Tuesday– Getting Your Comic-on with Great Science Graphic Novels — Book List

 

Can you believe it is already December? We hope that you have found some amazing reads here this year. To finish out 2018 we’ve selected some comics and graphic novels that might have you looking at STEM in an entirely new way.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Older than Dirt: A Wild But True History of Earth by Don Brown and Dr. Michael R. Perfit  

Almost 14.5 billion years ago, it all started with a BIG BANG. What began as a cloud of gas and dust became our planet. Sibert Honor medalist Don Brown tackles the history of our planet in his latest.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgThe Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown

Another title from Don Brown for your bookshelf provides readers with information about one of the worst environmental disasters of our planet. This is a great book to pair with The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Science Comics series

We’ve featured select titles within this STEM series before, but we wanted to be sure to tell you about the newest title released this fall:  Solar System: Our Place in SpaceOther titles include Volcanoes, Coral Reefs, Robots & Drones, Rockets, and The Brain. Check them out.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Twisted True Tales from Science series 

Stephanie Bearce is the creator of another great science comics series. Budding science fair enthusiasts will enjoy Explosive Experiments and Disaster Discoveries. The truth is always stranger than fiction!

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer  by Sydney Padua

A bit of a departure from our normal middle-grade focus, this informative and fun young adult graphic novel includes tons of primary information as it explores the lives of Ada Lovelace and inventor Charles Babbage. It was too good to pass up!

 

Plus, we wanted to share a few fiction titles that pair well with the above nonfiction science comics:

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

We featured the Monsters and Modules installment of this series back in June, but there are lots of other (alliterative) titles to consider.  Potions and Parameters. Paths and Portals. Robots and Repeats. Secrets and Sequences. The combination of logic puzzles, basic coding instruction, and mysteries is perfect for budding STEM wizards.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Lowriders in SpaceLowriders to the Center of the Earth; and Lowriders Blast from the Past by Cathy Camper and illustrated by Raul the Third

Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working on cars, specifically lowriders. Sketched in pen-and-ink, the stories are chock full of science facts and several Spanish words/phrases. These titles will entertain as they inform.

 

 

STEM Tuesday CoSTEM Contest Winners!!

 

CONGRATULATIONS  to the WINNERS of the First Annual  STEMTuesday COSTEM Contest!

As you will recall, each participant was asked to dress up like their favorite STEM book. We had many awesome entries. It was a tough decision, but the STEMTuesday Team decided on the following:

 

First Place–  Lindsay D.     

Her 8-year-old son made this costume of the Alvin with mostly recycled parts 

He was inspired by Michelle Cusolito’s Flying Deep book (Charlesbridge Publishing) 

                 

 

2nd Place–  Cate, Cecilia and Vicky  4th graders at Rockenbaugh Elementary

The girls are part of Girl Scout Troop #4039, and they completed the Junior Badge “Balloon Car Design Challenge” in conjunction with their entry. They were inspired by Air Power – Rocket Science Made Simple by Pat Murphy and the Scientists of Klutz labs

       

 

 

3rd Place — Sarah Q. 

Her two children dressed up as a storm — lightning and rain

They were inspired by  Everything Weather by Kathy Furgang (National Geographic Kids)

 

               

 

What STEM-TASTIC Costumes! Well done, participants.  See, STEM books aren’t just for reading… they also ENGAGE. EXCITE and INSPIRE.

We had such fun with this contest!  So get those costumes and STEM Books ready, because the CoSTEM contest will return next year.

 

 

THANKS FOR Celebrating our First Year of STEMTuesday with us!

Cheers

The STEMTuesday Team