Today I get to speak to a group of women who could use a little encouragement in their lives. I have to say, being asked to talk to this group about what it is like to be a "woman scientist" puts on the pressure. How do I reach out to these women whose problems I can't even begin to understand?
I've been thinking about this on and off for about the past week. This is what I think I am going to do: talk about science as a mystery. Nature is accessible to everyone. That's my plan.
I'm taking with me the "ducky boxes". These are little baby shower favor boxes in which I've placed various small items - marbles, paperclips, cotton balls, etc. The whole point of this exercise is to take my participants through the process of thinking like a scientist. We'll use our senses to try and figure out what's in the box.
Then I think I'll talk about how it was observation and using my senses that drew me into science. When I was a little girl, we lived near the ocean - I loved to just sit and watch tidal pools. Tidal pools really aren't too far from ducky boxes.
I'll try and bring this back around to where we are (in a landlocked state). I have some "stuff" - snake skins, snails, fossils, mussel shells, etc. from our state. I also have some information on a Master Naturalist program fairly nearby and I have a story about a woman who went back for her degree after going through a similar situation to theirs. She started by getting her associates at a community college and eventually came away with a master's degree.
So, that's my plan. I hope it works out - I think it will.
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