March is Women's History Month, so I asked Tanya if she could talk about women in space as part of her presentation. She put together a fantastic PowerPoint just long enough to get the school-age kids in attendance interested, but not so long that they were falling asleep. She talked about the first several women in space, and also briefly about her work at ASU. Here is what I learned that I didn't know before:
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space in 1983.
Mae C. Jemison was the first African-American woman in space in 1992.
Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman in space in 1993.
After the history of women in space and a short overview of her work, it was time to make a solar system bracelet! It took 20-30 minutes to put the bracelets together, but the kids really enjoyed following the directions in the kit to put together an accurate solar system they can wear. This project unexpectedly doubled as a fine motor skill builder AND an exercise in understanding written directions!
Finally, thanks to Tanya and ASU, we were lucky enough to be able to raffle off the new American Girl doll to the program participants.
Luciana has recently been named the American Girl Doll of the Year for 2018. She wants to be an astronaut when she grows up, so it was the perfect fit for this program. Each child in attendance wrote their name on a sparkly card stock star, and the winner was drawn at the end of the program. The little girl who won was already an American Girl enthusiast, and was really excited to add Luciana to her collection. I love giving away awesome prizes like this!
Overall, an incredibly successful and fun program. I can't wait to have Tanya back for Summer Reading, when she will be a guest at Mad Science!
You can follow Tanya on Twitter @tanyaofmars or visit her website, TanyaOfMars.com.
Here is a list of books I pulled for display at the program:
Adult Nonfiction
- Notable Women Scientists—Pamela Proffitt (ed)
- Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars—Nathalia Holt
- Hidden Figures—Margot Lee Shetterly
- Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space—Rosanne Welch
- Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars—Mabel Armstrong
- Exploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities—Mary Kay Carson
- Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet—Buzz Aldrin with Marianne J. Dyson
- Connie & Bonnie’s Birthday Blastoff—Ray Nelson Jr. and Douglas Kelly
- When You Look Up at the Moon—Allan Fowler
- Voyager’s Greatest Hits: The Epic Trek to Interstellar Space—Alexandra Siy
- Space Encyclopedia: A Tour of Our Solar System and Beyond—David A. Aguilar
- Sally Ride: First American Woman in Space—Carole Ann Camp
- Ellen Ochoa: The First Hispanic Woman in Space—Joy Paige
- To the Stars! The First American Woman to Walk in Space—Carmella Van Vleet and Dr. Kathy Sullivan
