Celebrate Women in STEM on Ada Lovelace Day
Posted by SM Bruner on
October 15th marks the 5th annual Ada Lovelace Day, a worldwide celebration of women who have made important contributions to the STEM (science technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. The event is named after Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, a 19th-century mathematician who is also considered by many to be the first computer programmer.
BrainPOP’s signature offering for this occasion is our Ada Lovelace movie, which describes her life and contributions to science and technology. But we also encourage you to share with your students our movies, quizzes, and games connected to other STEM rockstars! These include physicist and chemist Marie Curie, primatologist Jane Goodall, physicist and astronaut Sally Ride, and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Sprinkled among other topic pages are a number of high-interest informational text Related Readings on important women in STEM. For example, students can read about mathematician Emmy Noether, astronomer Vera Rubin, and nurse and epidemiology pioneer Florence Nightingale.
As an additional activity, consider asking your students to research a woman from STEM history. Then, have students write either a short biography or a short play about her life and accomplishments. Feeling extra inspired? Help your students make their own video in the BrainPOP style on a woman in STEM whose work they admire! Happy Ada Lovelace Day to all.
