You go, Girl!

Part of the Auditorium Speaker Series included a presentation by Sally Ride, first female astronaut, and Tam O'Shaughnessy; it was aptly named You Go, Girl! Girls (and Boys) Can Make a Difference for Our Planet.

In elementary school most boys and girls enjoy science and are curious about the world around them. Unfortunately, the interest in science drops off between fifth and eighth grades; both girls and boys are lost, but girls are lost in greater numbers. The good news is that kids don't need to be converted to science. Instead, this interest needs to be sustained and nurtured, and we already know how to do this: kids need to be shown that science is creative, collaborative, and fun; kids need to know that there are all kinds of human/normal people who are scientists; and finally, kids need to know that science is all around us and relevent.

Sally and Tam feel that there should be a focus on climate change and on the earth's resources. Supplementary books for the school market and professional development for educators are two ways that can highlight these two areas and lead to positive changes. Sally and Tam are authors of a book entitled Mission Planet Earth that addresses some of the concerns that people have about our earth.

At the end of the session, we were left with a number of questions: What are people on the planet going to do about the changing climate of the earth? How can we rally others to help solve the problems? What role will science and technology have in the development of our future? The vitality of our planet depends on our ability to motivate and educate our students and to help them to make contributions that matter.