Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable
contrast.
Try our take-home activities and share your results with us on social media with the hashtags #queenslibrary and #womeninscience!
Animal Habitats
Build a habitat that’s perfect for an animal.
Joan Beauchamp-Procter (1897-1931) was an expert in herpetology (the study of reptiles) and discovered a new species, the peninsula dragon lizard. She designed the most complicated and advanced reptile house of its time, and showed how art, painted scenery, and a perfect temperature system could make all animals more comfortable. Her philosophy informs the way modern zoos are run today.
Building Geometric Shapes
Use straws and paper clips to form geometric shapes.
Maryam Mirzakhani (1977-2017) did important work in the field of hyperbolic geometry and gave us new insight into the dynamics of abstract surfaces. She was the first woman to win the Fields Medal, considered the Nobel Prize in Math.
Buoyancy
Examine how objects float differently in salt water and fresh water.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) taught the world about the ocean's ecosystems and inspired the US Environmental Protection Agency. Her book, Silent Spring, triggered the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Sylvia Earle’s (1935 - ) research, exploration, and photography help educate people about the world's oceans. She is National Geographic's Explorer-in-Residence and through her "Mission Blue," she fights to protect the ocean from pollution and overfishing. Since 1979, she holds the women's record for the deepest dive.
Flight: Paper Helicopters
Build and test a paper helicopter.
Mae Jemison (1956 - ) was the first African American woman in space. She is the principal of the 100 Year Starship project that aims to make sure that human beings will be able to travel to the next solar system within the next 100 years, and founder of the Jemison Group Inc. and BioSentient Corporation, which creates devices that will allow doctors to monitor patients' day-to-day nervous system functions.
Genetic Traits
Take a survey to see which genetic traits a group of people share and which are different.
Nettie Stevens (1861-1912) conducted groundbreaking research, published in 1905, which overturned hundreds of years of misconceptions. She discovered that sex is determined by "x" and "y" chromosomes and changed how we study embryos and cytogenetics.
Source: Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky, Ten Speed Press, 2016
