When I started my first chemistry lab, I was kind of nervous. I hung back while the boys charged in and seized bottles and equipment like they knew exactly what they were doing. But I watched them closely and realized they didn’t have a clue. So I said to myself, “If we’re on equal footing now, what’s stopping me from working right beside them?”
Fifteen years later, I have an advanced degree from the most prestigious scientific institution in the world, and those boys, well, don’t. In fact, for the first time in history, more women than men are majoring in science. And it’s about frickin’ time.
I bet you’ve heard of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, but I’ll bet you haven’t heard of Trotula of Salerno, Sophie Germain, Rosalind Franklin, Hildegarde von Bingen, Lynn Margulis, and hundreds more women scientists who changed the world with their discoveries. That’s not because they didn’t exist. It’s because the men who wrote history left them out of the books. That’s beginning to change, and it needs to change more.
So here’s a question: Do you like to make stuff? Do you like to cook? Do you like to play with colors and liquids and powders and fire? If so, chemistry might be your thing. In fact, you might be one of the next woman to not only change the world but also make sure everyone knows about it for generations to come!
So, here’s a little nudge to grab your interest. The Bunsen burner is a mainstay of chemistry labs across the world. It’s an awesome little device that looks like a metal candle (and if your school is anything like mine, it’ll be an ancient, rusty, metal candle, but hey, as long as it works). You can use it to burn materials, sterilize stuff and heat things up—like boiling water for tea, though you could also just use a stove for that.
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