Women Science Writers

March 1, 2022

Categories: Book Reviews, History, Podcasts, Posts, Science at Home : STEM
Tags: Ada Lovelance, Charles Babbage, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, nonfiction books for kids, Rachel Carson, Wnag Zhenvi, women science writers, Zora Neale Hurston

HONORING WOMEN SCIENCE WRITERS FOR WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

I bet you’re wondering why I choose a woman on a white horse as my featured image for a post about women science writers! The women’s suffrage movement paved the way for women to pursue many careers, including writing. And since March is Women’s History Month, I thought a guest post featuring women science writers was in order.

Plus, I love horses!

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

WHERE DID THE PHRASE 'THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD' ORIGINATE?

From Edward Bulwer-Lytton

NONFICTION BOOKS FOR KIDS

So! In honor of women’s science writers, I have included my first guest post on this blog, by Rochelle Melander. Her nonfiction book for kids, Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World through Writing, includes women science writers.

I love science, and since I’m a woman science writer, thought this would be a perfect topic. And what better time than during Women’s History Month!

Coffee break time for me. Take it away, Rochelle….

LIFE LESSONS FROM WOMEN SCIENCE WRITERS courtesy Rochelle Melander

When I designed my book, I wanted to include writers from as many disciplines as possible. Sure, I know that many kids who want to be writers dream about writing the next epic fantasy or a graphic memoir.

But from my work as a teaching artist, I also knew that most kids don’t dream of being writers. They want to be police officers, baseball players, celebrity chefs, astronauts, and environmentalists. For that reason, I wanted Mightier Than the Sword to tell the stories of mentors from many professions—including scientists.

When I researched the scientists in the book, I learned lessons that I could apply to my own thinking, researching, and writing. One of the biggest lessons I learned was about persisting through obstacles. Every single one of the women and men I researched didn’t just find their “big ideas” and easily share them with the world. They had to persist through multiple challenges to succeed. Here’s what I learned from four of my favorites:

Note from Louie: Click through for the slide shows below!

USE YOUR PASSION : Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797)

When Wang Zhenyi grew up, women had no legal rights and were forbidden from receiving a formal education. Luckily, she was born into a bookish family. Her father and grandparents taught her medicine, geography, and math, poetry, and astronomy.

Wang Zhenyi, who became a mathematician, astronomer, and poet, developed a passion for creating mathematical and scientific texts that were accessible to readers.

She described a lunar eclipse for readers, who feared the phenomenon was the work of an angry god. But none of it was easy. She wrote, “There were times that I had to put down my pen and sigh. But I love the subject, I do not give up.”

Previous slide

Next slide

IMAGINE! Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)

Ada Lovelace studied advanced mathematics. Working with her mentor, the mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, she translated an article he wrote about his plans for the analytical engine, a device that could complete mathematical calculations.

Lovelace added her own thoughts to this article, predicting that someday this kind of a machine would be able to perform many scientific and practical tasks such as composing music and producing graphics.

In her notes, Lovelace wrote an algorithm that could tell a machine what to do. This algorithm is the first example of computer code!

Ada believed that those who could combine science and imagination could soar further into new territories. She wrote this about imagination, “It brings together things, facts, ideas, conceptions, in new, original, endless, ever varying, Combinations.”

Previous slide

Next slide

GET HELP : Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

Zora Neale Hurston, a cultural anthropologist who studied at Columbia University, was passionate about telling the stories of the people she grew up around in Eatonville, Florida. Only, the first time she tried to gather their stories, she failed.

With her new clothes and University accent, she didn’t fit in anymore. The next time she tried, she found a local woman to introduce her to the best storytellers.

This woman brought her to parties, where she listened to the locals tell stories and gathered them together in her book, Mules and Men. She wrote, “You take up the pen when you are told and write what is commanded. There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.”

Previous slide

Next slide

BE CURIOUS: Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

Rachel Carlson was a marine scientist who worked as a writer and editor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington DC. In 1947, she got curious about tests the government was doing with DDT, a chemical that killed insects.

When a friend wrote to tell her that spraying DDT to kill mosquitoes had also killed songbirds, Rachel offered to write an article for Reader’s Digest. They declined. But she did not give up.

She continued to investigate, writing about the problems with DDT in her book Silent Spring, which warned people about how chemicals like DDT were damaging the natural world.

Before her book was released, a chemical company threatened to sue her publisher and the FBI began to investigate her as a communist. But this publicity helped the book become a bestseller.

She wrote, “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”

Previous slide

Next slide

Rochelle Melander wrote her first book at seven and has published 11 books for adults including Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. Her debut book for children Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World through Writing won the 2021 Cybils Award for Middle Grade nonfiction. She’s an ADHD coach, an artist-educator, and the founder of Dream Keepers, a writing workshop for young people. She blogs at writenowcoach.com and rochellemelander.com Find her on all social media platforms as @writenowcoach