ScienceGrrl: Science is for Everyone

On the 8th October, I went along to the Arts Tower at the University of Sheffield to attend the first inaugural lecture titled 'Science is for Everyone' by ScienceGrrl's Sheffield branch. 

The lecture began with Jen Lewis (founder of ScienceGrrl Sheffield) asking people to picture a typical scientist and engineer, something I have written about before here. Jen then showed a picture of Ada Lovelace and asked the audience if anyone knew who she was. It's safe to say that not many people did (or they were being extremely shy!). The lecture itself was arranged to coincide with Ada Lovelace day on 14th October, which is a celebration of the achievements of women in science. Ada is often associated with being the worlds first computer programmer after sketching out programs and plans for something called the 'Analytical Engine', which was essentially an early version of the modern computer.

Ada Lovelace Day - 14th October

Next up was the main speaker of the evening, Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, a Mechanical Engineer and Enterprise Educator at the University of Sheffield. She told us her story and how she became involved in the field of engineering. Elena is originally from Mexico, where she studied. There she met a new friend who had a disabled brother. Elena was astounded at the way his family had made a hand-brace for him. This was engineering. She was determined to help disabled people complete day to day activities and she discovered she could do this through engineering. 'Everything is enabled by science and engineering' and so these pathways make just as much difference to people's lives as medicine can. 

Professor Rodriguez-Falcon has spent her career dedicated to helping those with a disability through her knowledge of engineering. Someone with a 'disability' may not just be someone who was born with a physical/mental disability, as she explained that we all become disabled in one way or another as we age. She showed that the number of elderly people with a physical disability will be 50% of the population by 2020. As our strength and dexterity deteriorate as we get older, it becomes harder to do day to day chores and clever engineering solutions are the way to overcome this. Elena's talk was incredibly inspiring and it was extremely helpful of her to give an insight into what you can do with engineering and how helpful it can actually be to people. When you say the word 'engineering' people often think of cars or aeroplanes and vehicles, but actually it is so much more than that and the career possibilities you can get from engineering are endless. 

We then heard from some PhD students from the University, all ScienceGrrls and hence involved in STEM subjects. They were kind enough to talk us through their research and all four of them were involved in entirely different fields:

• Firstly we heard about the subject of Bone Regeneration and the engineering behind aiding the recovery of broken bones through inserting a material between the gaps in the broken bone to speed up recovery. 

• The second short talk was on Additive Manufacturing, or 3D printing as we all know it. The technology behind 3D printing is extremely cool, not only because you can make a 3D replica of your own face (really!), but really thin slices of material in any shape needed can be produced by the printer. This is very useful for the Medical, Automotive and Consumer Industries. 

• We then heard from Priya, a member of Sheffield's NeuroGirls, who was researching Vasomotion and the dilation and constriction of arteries in the body. She told us that vasomotion is extremely useful in medicine as it can help predict whether a patient is developing a disease, before the disease is actually apparent. 

• Lastly, we heard from another ScienceGrrl, Steph, who began as a chemist who was interested in environmental chemistry and is now an environmental engineer studying groundwater and the microbiology to clean up groundwater after petrol leaks. I found her talk most interesting as I think I could relate to it most, however all of the girls were absolutely amazing and so passionate about their fields and projects. 

At the end of the lecture, there was time for questions:

The first question asked Professor Rodriguez how she decided what kind of engineering she wanted to study. Elena replied that she didn't actually know what career she wanted, so she chose mechanical engineering as it is a very broad field and she decided it would be best for her as she could specialise later if she wanted to. Some of the other ScienceGrrls also said this and some said they 'fell' in to engineering; it wasn't their initital career plan but they discovered that they really enjoyed finding practical solutions to problems faced in the world. 

Following questions discussed the gender imbalance in engineering subjects at University and in Industry. Elena was quick to reassure people that she had never experienced discrimination even whilst working at a company where she was the only woman amongst 200 men. She said that the actual problem is not the vast number of boys in STEM, but the number of girls not taking STEM subjects. 

'That's not to say we're not awesome.

 We are brilliant!' 

- Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon on the lack of women in engineering

I had the most enjoyable evening at the lecture and I hope it inspired all of the younger people in there to study STEM at University. It was really good to see people of different ages and there were more boys there than I expected there to be, which was amazing to see. I really hope ScienceGrrl Sheffield hold more events like this at the Uni. I'd like to thank them all for giving up their time to share their knowledge and passion with us. You're an inspiration. 

Standing Out

As part of my degree course, I spend a year out in Industry doing research and completing my own projects. After this, I return to Uni for a year where I have to give a presentation and write a report on my experience. Obviously part of the terrifying preparation for this, apart from attending multiple meetings and careers events, is writing a CV.

CVs are difficult to write, especially today because there are less jobs available and hence less work experience for you to actually put on your CV. It's a vicious cycle. I spent my first year trying to compile a list of things that I could put on my CV and make me stand out from the crowd and help convey my passion for my subject. Here are my tips for students on how to write an awesome CV:

 

(This is kind of focussed around my CV as a science student, however you can tweak it accordingly to fit your subject if needed)

1. An Amazing Introduction - This really needs to grab the reader's attention and show them why you want the job and why you're passionate. Simply stating that you need and job and you have good people skills isn't going to make you look amazing. You want to be remembered. Make sure your personal statement isn't too long, you need to leave room for the bulk of your CV. To write this section, I basically pretended I was writing my UCAS personal statement again and then shortened it and made it more specific to the job market rather than University. 
2. Work Experience - If you don't have any work experience, try volunteering as it's really good to put on your CV as it shows you've taken time out of your own life to help someone else. Where relevant, try and link your work experience to skills that you may need in the position you're applying for or to the job itself. e.g. I worked at a hair salon for two years and I linked this to working with chemicals when writing my own CV.
3. Education - When writing my CV in preparation of applying for placements, I didn't list all my GCSEs (as they sometimes tell you to at school). It wastes space and after all, they know I passed my GCSEs, I'm at Uni. Simply saying that you have grades in Maths, English and Science is enough. I did however list my A-level grades as they're a bit more recent. You can also put in Uni module grades if you have them. 
4. Interests - I think this is quite a hard one as you don't want to make it the bulk of your CV, however you shouldn't really just put that you like 'reading' or 'going out with friends'. Try and expand on it and say what you are truly interested in. This part doesn't have to link back to the job role as it's an extension of your personality and should reflect the type of person you are.Try and make it personal (but not too personal y'know) e.g. My CV contains my own interests which I have listed as drawing, particularly hyperrealism and portraits. I also mention that I am interested in SciComm and therefore have joined ScienceGrrl, I am a STEM ambassador and I write a blog to discuss topics that interest me. 

Last-minute tips

• Try to make your CV a representation of you and your passion, don't try to make it like everyone else's. 
• Don't base your CV on ones you find on the internet. It's fine to look at layout, but you might be tempted to copy parts of it that maybe don't really apply to you or the kind of work you want
• Spell check it. Otherwise it's probably a little embarrassing.
• Keep it updated. If you do something interesting related to your subject write it down and remember it. You'll probably find that you have a lot more to write on your CV than you initially thought. 
• Keep a good relationship with your referees and ask them before putting their details on your CV, it's a bit rude if you don't. 

University: My Room

When you move away from home and into new accommodation like I did last year, it's difficult to make it feel like home. I had a really bare room for a while which made it feel a bit empty and hospital-like. So, grab your cushions, cute bedding, photographs and stationery to jazz up your room. It is a home from home after all. 

I recently moved in to my new flat that I will being living in during second year and decided to make it a little more colourful this year. It's still not finished, I have plenty of photos to go up but I decided not to feature those in the video because they're of family members, friends etc. and I've been scouring Etsy for more cute things to make my room look homely. You'll also notice the pile of books I got from the library yesterday. I have plenty of reading to do before Uni starts again and so a trip to the library was a must. :-)

This is the first video I've made in a long time (I haven't used movie maker since about year 7) and so I apologise for how amateur it is. 

Music: Mazzy Star // Fade Into You

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Useful Books for Undergraduate Chemistry Students

I love books, like really love books. If you're starting University and studying the physical sciences, I've devised a list of books that may be useful in your first year of University. Every Uni has their own list of recommended reading but obviously not all lists will contain the same books, so I've taken some books that my department recommended and some I discovered myself, that have been really helpful/interesting, so I hope this is of some use if you want to get some books together before starting your course. :-)

• This book is awesome. It may say that it's for A level Chemistry, but it's full of exercises and calculations that cover all aspects of Chemistry. It's really good for revising your maths skills and working through problems. It also has example problems at the beginning of each chapter so you know how to calculate the answers yourself and it's just really useful if you want to revise answering calculation questions. You can buy it here: Calculations for A-level Chemistry

• Another Maths book specifically for those undergraduate students studying the chemical sciences without having done A level maths. Again, example problems are given and it covers everything you will cover in your first year maths catch-up lectures. Covers lots of different topics such as differentiation, integration and matrices. You can buy it here: Maths for Chemistry

• Oxford Chemistry Primers are really helpful. They are small books each focussing on a specific topic in Chemistry and will contain some information that may not be given to you in lectures. They're really good for outside reading, are concise and informative and on the whole, easy to understand. I didn't buy before starting my first year and I really wish I had because generally, the University library will only have a few copies of each and they are really good! I've recently invested in a few to begin my second year and plan on taking them on holiday with me to begin some pre-Uni reading. Just search for Oxford Chemistry Primers on Amazon and there are tonnes of them. Some are more expensive than others and I'm unsure why, but I think I got mine for about a penny each. You can't go wrong. 
  

• Who says all educational books have to be text books? If you're studying a subject like chemistry, one topic you will cover in your first year will be the structure of atoms and quantum mechanics. It's difficult to get your head around at first because it's like nothing you've ever encountered before and it always reminds me of the famous quote: "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." This is where Brian Greene comes in. 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' is a brilliant book. It really helped me understand quantum mechanics, probability and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. It's also really good if you're interested in concepts such as time and space etc. Amazon have it here: Fabric of the Cosmos 

There are so many useful books out there to aid you in your university course and don't be afraid to try those that aren't textbooks; sometimes they're more helpful as they have a more personal approach and examples you can relate to. :-)

Mental Health and University

This post is a little off the topic of science, however I feel it's important to discuss it.

Mental Health. It's a tough one and sometimes it's incredibly difficult to talk about. I was someone who didn't discuss anything that was going on in my head for a very long time and as a result, I made myself much worse. University can also be a particularly stressful environment to be in. Deadlines, lectures to attend, meetings, etc. can really get on top of you. But don't worry, there is help at hand. Most universities are so used to dealing with mental health issues and will have a full network of people dedicated to helping people just like us. So here are my tips for coping with a mental illness at University.

1. Seek Help - I mean it. Don't do what I did and try and manage it by yourself for years on end and don't be too proud to go to the Doctor's. It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If you think about it, you probably wouldn't be ashamed of going to your GP with an ongoing physical illness, would you? So be brave and seek the help you need and deserve. :-)
2. Medication can be good - Sometimes your Doctor will suggest putting you on medication to alleviate some of the symptoms of your illness. This isn't always a bad thing. At first when my GP suggested putting me on Citalopram, this filled me with fear. I didn't like the idea of relying on a tablet to make me feel better and I wondered what I would do when I was taken off them. This was rather silly of me. Whilst I acknowledge that medication isn't for everyone, it can help. It doesn't cure your illness, but can help you feel well enough to tackle it and take steps to recover. Personally, I think they're worth a try if needs be, as I don't think that I would have been brave or have felt well enough to go to my counselling appointments if I didn't have my medication to give me that boost in mood. 
3. Let people know - This is important. Like, really important. Let your lecturers and tutor know as well as your friends and flatmates if you feel close enough to them. You may be able to get extended deadlines on assignments or extra help if you need it. Whilst your course guides may not be experts on mental health, they do want you to pass your course and be willing to help you do that. If you have an extended period of time off, it's also easier to explain if they know about your illness before hand. 
4. Socialise - Even though Uni is possibly the most social place on Earth, it's easy to let your thoughts and illness get the better of you and hide yourself away. No good will come of this. Believe me, because I did it. The more you get yourself out there and talk to people, the more friends you will make, and potentially build a greater network of people who can support you and help you.
5. Relax - I am someone who finds it incredibly difficult to relax. I panic and worry about every situation bad or good and this really isn't needed when you're at University and you already have enough to do. Try and be organised and get assignments done on time so you can have some time to yourself to relax.
6. Try not to drink too much - At University you will most probably be surrounded by alcohol. But if you have a mental illness, alcohol isn't going to help. I enjoy a drink occasionally but I try to avoid getting drunk as alcohol is a depressant and obviously won't help you overcome illnesses like depression. Look after yourself. Also, some medication advises that you don't drink, so it's probably not best to take your medication and then go and get smashed.

How to cope when people aren't supportive. 

This is probably my area of expertise and is quite personal, but I'll share it because I know there will be someone who is going through the same. To explain: I told one of my close (close) family members about my depression. This was probably one of the worse decisions I ever made. Whilst I acknowledge that you simply can't understand depression without experiencing it yourself, they really do not understand and some of their comments have made me feel even more depressed. From simple comments like 'Pull yourself together' and 'Why do you look so miserable? For God's sake cheer up!' to things that are much worse and I don't wish to repeat.

When you're trying to recover from a mental illness, it's not helpful in any way to be around people like this, regardless of how much you may love them. I sometimes dread coming home from University simply because I know my anxiety levels and depression will go through the roof, my self-harming also gets much worse. But this summer I have devised my own strategy for coping, which can only be good.  :-)

1. Get out of the house as much as possible - I see my friends, other family members or just go for a walk on my own. I try to do this everyday, just to have time to myself and clear my head. Also the fresh air really helps with managing my depression. 
2. Ignore comments - This is the most difficult one. Whenever someone makes an ignorant comment or is unsupportive in any way, try to ignore them. I have let so many hurtful comments get to me and make me feel much worse about myself. To deal with it, I like to imagine that I have a physical illness and that person has just made the exact same comment. Would they make that comment if you were physically ill, probably not. Whilst not letting it define you, you are allowed to acknowledge that you're ill and that people are sometimes ignorant.
3. Find Hobbies - Since I have been around the house a lot more this summer as I don't currently have a job. I have found that keeping hobbies helps distract me if I feel down. There also great to hide in your room with if people aren't being supportive and you're finding them difficult to be around. I think the best hobbies are something that involves your full attention so you can properly distract yourself from potential situations that could make you feel worse. One of the reasons I set up my blog was precisely this, to escape when I need to. I love writing and discussing things I'm passionate about, so this really helps. I also read and if all else fails, clean. Cleaning is really good to take your attention away from things. 
4. Remember to keep a network of people who are supportive. If you don't have anyone, there are some great organisations out there who can help alleviate loneliness and make you feel better. Some good ones are: Mindfull, Black Dog Tribe, Sane, Student Minds, Time to Change, and loads more. 

These are my main strategies for coping around unsupportive people (especially those you can't escape from). I hope they are useful in some way. :-)

What does a scientist look like?

Whilst reading the latest issue of Chemistry World, a monthly magazine I receive for being a member of the Royal society of Chemistry, I came across an article about Martyn Poliakoff, a professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. He is the foreign secretary of the RSC, meaning he has an influential role in the international business of the Royal Society. Despite this, he is most famous for his insightful and entertaining Youtube videos on the channel 'Periodic Videos'. Poliakoff and his team at Nottingham worked to produce informative videos on every element in the periodic table and have now moved on to even cooler chemistry concepts and experiments such as heating up Creme Eggs (an absolute must-see) and the classic experiment; the Iodine clock.

Heating a creme egg. 

 Professor Poliakoff himself is the epitome of  your 'stereotypical scientist', his wild grey hair and glasses make him the received idea of a scientist we've all come to know. But, as Poliakoff states 'Part of my mission is to show that not all scientists look like me'. Whilst Poliakoff acknowledges his own appearance, he makes viewers aware that there are people out there in the field of science who do not look like him at all. His team at the University of Nottingham comprises of men and women of different backgrounds and ages. It is good that he acknowledges the stereotype and recognises that there needs to be more diversity. His work in Ethiopia has been invaluable in getting more African scientists into the international community and he has said 'My long term vision is that Ethiopian scientists should go to an international conference and nobody should think it surprising'. He is truly an ambassador for diversity.

When you picture a scientist you probably think of an old man with crazy Einstein-like hair and glasses, wearing a white lab coat, not unlike Professor Poliakoff. Whereas if you look at real people who have careers in STEM fields, they come in all shapes and sizes, different ethnic backgrounds and of course, different sexes. I believe that challenging the stereotypical image of a scientist is the one of the most effective ways to introduce more diversity into the fields. If you have this view of what someone in a chosen career path 'should' look like then you are alienating everyone who doesn't look that way. Therefore, girls and ethnic minorities may be less inclined to take up science if they are unable to see how they 'fit in' and if there is no one who they can relate to. The image of a scientist we have all grown up with is an ageing white man, yet first and foremost, a scientist is a person, someone with passion and curiosity. That's it. These preconceptions of what a scientist is, damages the opportunity to diversify the scientific industry. I am glad that there are people like Martyn Poliakoff in the world who want to confront this out of date vision.

I'm a scientist! No grey hair to be seen!

Obviously, I am passionate about getting more girls into STEM subjects and I just wanted to let any girl reading this know that you can be a scientist/engineer/mathematician, regardless of your appearance. Science doesn't care about how you look, it cares about your mind and how you think and your passion for the subject. People shouldn't be scared of following their dreams because they can't relate to the image of what they should be. There are so many fabulous female scientists and organisations, such as the Stemettes, who promote diversity and gender equality in the field, so why are we still stuck on this grey haired character who is so obsolete in today's society? The days of balding men in suits sat round a table discussing gravity is long gone. It's time to make way for a new 'face of science', one that represents all cultures and backgrounds.

My love for Science museums

During my time in Newcastle, the most outstanding place I have visited has been the Centre for Life. Situated in Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne the centre attracts around 250,000 visitors a year and is the 'largest provider of school science workshops in Europe'.

Curiosity Zone

The centre provides all sorts of activities including the 'Curiosity Zone' where science activities are provided to children, along with instructions' (sometimes) but the actual aim of the activity is not given. The curiosity zone aims to replicate research and development and compares research to a 'formal sort of play'. I fully agree, as all scientific research involves some playing around with concepts or reactants; the path is never straightforward and and the target almost never met first time around. I really loved the idea of leaving children to make what they wanted of the equipment provided and explore it for themselves without an adult telling them what they should be doing. Each child approached activities in a different way and had different ideas of what they 'should' do or what the equipment was used for. It's a great way to inspire budding scientists and give children an opportunity to 'think like a scientist'.

Some of the activities on offer in the Curiosity zone included 'The Reactable', a table where you can create sound using programmed shapes. The sound can then be adjusted by placing other shapes next to those already laid on the table, as the pucks interact with each other. Hence by using the process of placing shapes carefully and adjusting and fine-tuning the sounds you want, you can create a digital musical masterpiece. The Reactable aims to encourage creativity and curiosity and all in all is fun to play around with. 

 A video of me dancing to our own musical masterpiece. I have some seriously groovy dance moves going on that I sincerely apologise for. 

When I first got there I was already extremely excited, but my excitement got taken to a whole new level when I saw that one of the exhibitions on show was 'BODY WORLDS vital', which is an exhibition by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, using real human bodies. Dr von Hagens invented the technique of plastination in 1977 whilst working as an anatomist in Germany and the exhibition is approved by the Human Tissue Authority. To see real human bodies and the amazing things they are capable of is truly fascinating. Real people may donate their bodies to plastinated after they pass away and although this may seem a little grim, the result is a display of amazing exhibits informing the audience of how the human body works and how to live a healthy lifestyle. Samples of healthy lungs compared to those with emphysema and lung cancer can be seen and it's shocking to see how much damage you are capable of doing to your body. Although a lot of people are initially unsure about the exhibition, it is there to spread a good message about the importance of life. Of course photographs are not allowed to be taken inside the exhibition, after all these are people's bodies and must be respected, so I took a picture of the poster instead.

I also visited the centres Planetarium, however I'll leave this for the next blog post as I've been fortunate enough to visit two planetariums in two days, so I'll leave the awesome space stuff for later. :-)

 Centre for Life

North-East Adventures

Kielder Water

So I'm currently sat in my boyfriend's bedroom in Wallsend after the most incredible week of sightseeing and new experiences, and I still have another five days here. I went camping for the first time, which was fab and the toilet block had Dyson Airblades which I'm a huge fan of and I imagine it's rare for a campsite to have such luxurious hand-drying facilities. If anyone wishes to visit said campsite with fabulous toilets I'll leave the link below. We camped just outside of Bellingham (which I learnt is NOT pronounced Belling-ham) at Boe Rigg campsite. The area is amazing, there's so many beautiful sites to see, including Kielder Water and Forest Park. Being the science fanatic I am, I of course wanted to visit the observatory but unfortunately all events were fully booked. I will visit one day when the skies are clear. :-)

If you're a fan of conservation and wildlife, there are many species that can only be seen in this part of the country, including red squirrels.  Kielder is home to 50% of the native red squirrel population and much information can be found about the conservation work being done to protect this beautiful species. Also to be seen are Ospreys, some of the most fascinating birds of prey.

Discovery Museum

Yesterday I visited the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, the first science museum in Britain to be built outside of London. The place is vast with so much to 'discover', literally; I could have spent all day in there. There is an exhibit which takes you through the history of the Newcastle, from the Romans building Pons Aelius to the modern day. Of course, my personal favourite was the science maze. The maze takes you through the basics and fundamental concepts of science including: forces, how sound travels, electricity, and light and vision just to name a few. There are activities to try throughout the maze such as a ball game involving magnets and seeing how much electricity you can generate simply by completing a circuit using your hands and how the voltage increases when your hands are moist. It's a brilliant way for young people to gain  an interest in science; there were so many little children bewildered by making their own circuits and standing in front a kaleidoscope mirror. It's lovely to know that this brilliant exhibition might inspire one of these young children to take up science. The gift shop is also filled with sciencey goodness, I especially wanted the crystal growing kit. :-)

I still have to visit the Centre for Life and the Great North Museum amongst other things, so I'll write a little review of those next week.

Boe Rigg campsite

Kielder Water and Forest Park

and for any astronomy enthusiasts: Kielder Observatory

Discovery Museum

Being a girl.

As a girl, from the very first moment that you begin to walk and talk you are bombarded with images of what you are supposed to be. Toys, clothes, everything is pink. Possibly the sickliest colour known to man dominates our life and choices, even as a child. If you've ever been to 'Toys R Us', you will completely understand what I am about to say. From the moment you step into the shop, you immediately know which are the 'girls' toys and which are the boys. The shop is split into two distinct colours; one aisle bright pink, the next blue. As you wander down the 'girls' aisle it's easy to understand why girls as young as five worry about their weight [1] as stick-thin dolls line the shelves in provocative clothing.

Although these toys are not labelled as being for  'girls' or 'boys' it's easy to understand where the stance of the companies that make these toys lie. The simple message is 'Girls, if it's not pink you shouldn't be playing with it.' and for a child, that is an incredibly confusing concept. Why should your choice of toy depend on the colour of it? And since when did being a girl mean you were attracted to all things shiny and sparkly? They're girls, not magpies. To look into this I went on the 'Toys R Us' website to look at the marketing used to ploy young children and make them make choices that aren't really their own.

I thought looking at the 'dress-up costumes' might give me an idea of the gender stereotypes placed on children, and they did. This image shows a 'boys' pirate costume placed directly above a 'girls' wedding dress. I believe that these gender stereotypes effect both boys and girls, however in this case I think it's much more damaging to girls. I couldn't find one 'girls' dress-up costume of a builder or a scientist or a police officer, but there were plenty of wedding and princess dresses. Not only does it limit the roles girls think they can play, but I know first hand that if you're the kind of girl that isn't into this stuff, it makes you feel like an outcast. I went to a fancy-dress party when I was about seven where all the girls went as Disney princesses/Angels/Mermaids and I went as Lara Croft. I loved it but everyone else just thought I was a weird kid dressed all in black and wielding toy guns, including the parents who found it quite amusing and made comments about my choice of costume. This amongst other things was damaging to myself esteem.

This was the next thing I found which sparked interest. Why does the 'boy' get to wear the army costume whilst the girls wear tiaras and play with a Disney Princess kitchen. Really. A DISNEY PRINCESS KITCHEN. My seven year old self would much have preferred the army costume, but again the message is that danger and adventure are for boys and girls can um, stay in the kitchen like the good little princesses they are. There were so many other toys I found that restricted boys and girls to gender stereotypes and conveyed the message that pink is girly and not for boys. Since when can you make toys masculine or feminine? They're pieces of plastic designed to be played with, but they are capable of sending out such damaging messages. 

This video was made by 'PinkStinks', a campaign with the objective to raise awareness of the stereotyping that goes on in the designing and manufacturing of children's toys. They believe both boys and girls are at risk of the stereotyping and this may limit their future career and life decisions. Their intention is to reverse the 'pinkification' of toys and girlhood and promote positive body-image and self-esteem for young girls.  Although this video is a couple of years old now, I think it's still very much relevant today. From my own personal experience, I don't believe that marketing the shiny pink plastics toys to girls and gearing them away from science and engineering has gotten any better. In fact, I believe it's worsened as we're continually becoming more obsessed with the way women look and the roles they play in society, which impacts young girls greatly. The more focus we put on how girls look, the more we drive the same young girls away from anything that could be seen as masculine. The challenge of removing these gender stereotypes is key to increase girls confidence, get more girls into fields of work where women are vastly under represented and instil a confidence in girls whereby they have dreams and aspirations, but not just to be a princess.

There's more than one way to be a girl

[1] APPG on body image.

Science and the education system.

For a while now, people have been talking about why there aren't many girls taking the sciences at A-level, especially physics. I sometimes think that I regret not taking physics at A-level as it's a subject I really enjoy now and it would have helped me hugely during my first year of University. However, the more I think about it, I realise that I didn't choose physics because physics A-level looks extremely boring. I'm not saying that physics is boring; I find it fascinating, especially learning about the origin of the planets and why we're here but at the time of choosing my A-levels, I couldn't think of a more mind-numbing course. I think this opinion can be extended to the majority of the sciences at A-level, as to pass the exams you don't even need to understand key concepts, simply memorise them, throw in some key words and BAM, you've got full marks. Well done you.

Chemistry is obviously my favourite subject, but even I didn't find the syllabus or the way of "learning" during A-level chemistry inspiring at all. Instead of focusing on why certain complexes produce gelatinous precipitates and the chemistry behind this, you simply had to remember to write down the word 'gelatinous' in the exam and you would be fine. I knew this wasn't learning. Okay, there's always going to be key concepts and words that you need to remember because they're important, but the idea behind science qualifications like this isn't understanding, it's memorisation and that's not what science is about. How are young people and especially girls supposed to pick these A-levels when there are no real-life applications behind them? Simply saying 'This is this, accept it. Oh and remember to write this word in your answer.' is not representative of the problem-solving and creative thinking that many scientists use on a day to day basis. This is why I didn't choose physics at A-level. I really didn't enjoy it as a subject at school because I couldn't relate to it. The only part of physics I enjoyed at school was learning about nuclear fission and radioactive decay as we were given actual examples of this. I think when it comes to science, the way you learn is by hands-on experience, not sitting and memorising. Thankfully, I had a brilliant teacher who actually studied chemistry at Uni (a rarity these days) and hence was really enthusiastic about the subject and always throwing in anecdotes and random facts related to what we were learning. I don't hesitate to say that if it wasn't for him, my love for chemistry probably wouldn't have developed as much as it did.

The way A-levels are taught kind of sets you up for failure when you reach University. All of a sudden you have vast amounts of information thrown at you and you quickly realise that memorising it all will be impossible and that's where I suddenly realised that I didn't know how to learn. Thankfully, there are a lot more practical sessions at Uni and these are what most helped me learn the concepts we were introduced to in lectures. My scores in my lab sessions have been consistently high throughout both semesters, simply because I enjoy them and I get to 'do stuff' whether it be carrying out a recrystallisation or playing around with chlorine gas (I use the word 'playing' loosely. Please don't play with chlorine gas.). All in all, the way A-levels and even GCSEs are taught makes science seem like very boring fields, when actually they are amazing and I can't imagine doing anything other than a science degree.

STEM club event

Last month, I attended my STEM ambassador induction and since then I've been really excited about getting involved in activities. Becoming a STEM ambassador is really easy and so worthwhile, you simply volunteer to give up some of your time to inspire and help run activities for primarily younger people in order to get them more interested in STEM related fields.

One of the activities I particularly wanted to get involved in was STEM clubs. These are clubs run by local schools for their students and usually occur in the evenings. The clubs are supposed to be engaging and educational without simply being an extension of what pupils learn in lessons. They are supposed to be inspiring and fun!

The STEM club information pack

 Being able to help such a club is what I really want to do, so today I and another ambassador walked across town to Sheffield Hallam University and managed to navigate the Owens building and their very complicated lifts (they work on a server that determines which lift you should get to arrive at your destination quickest, it's all very confusing). We arrived at room 941 and were greeted by a group of teachers who wanted to start or have recently started up STEM clubs in their schools and we were each given an information pack.

 The afternoon was really informal and fun; we got to try out lots of activities including seeing who could build the tallest tower out of a single piece of A4 paper and building and launching our own rockets.

The time came for all the ambassadors to briefly explain what our field of expertise was and why we were here. I explained that I want to get more girls into STEM subjects as females are vastly under represented. One female teacher then asked me if I would be interested in visiting her all-girl club. Working with an all female STEM club is really exciting to me as we do need more females in such careers.

WISET

Polymorph, a thermoplastic

The day ended and Andy Bullough (STEM coordinator for Yorkshire and the Humber) handed out lots of free learning resources to the teachers. One of these was polymorph, a thermoplastic which can be molded when heated. Knowing I was a chemist, he gave me a free pack of polymorph which I am extremely excited to play around with. All in all, a successful day.