I’ve been interested in science for as long as I can remember, but there are some situations that really stick out in my memory as sparking my love of science. As a young child, I watched shows like Beakman’s World, Bill Nye the Science Guy, The Magic School Bus and Zoom. I loved learning new things, and I still do! It helped that my mother was a microbiologist and as a child I was able to see her, and many other women, at work in a hospital laboratory on many Take Your Child to Work Day visits.

My teachers also had a huge impact on my life and aspirations. When I was in 6th grade, my science teacher had an ongoing class project to hatch chicks. The incubator was set up in the classroom and each day we would look for any changes to the eggs. While we waited for the chicks to develop and hatch we did experiments with store-bought eggs to learn about the eggshell. The most memorable experiment was when we soaked the eggs in vinegar and the shell became rubbery. Once the eggs finally hatched it was a cause for celebration. I remember being so excited that we were able to watch them hatch right before our eyes. I want to never forget that feeling of wonder and awe at our natural world.

I went on to study biology in college, and started my relationship with Liberty Science Center as a volunteer intern while I was still in college, and then began to work for the center as an Interpretation Associate after graduating. I have since switched to the STEM Education department where I am able to present Live Science demonstrations to our guests. LSC is an amazing place to work, and working here actually changed my career path. I discovered that I absolutely loved teaching children science. I’m currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and completing my student teaching in a sixth grade general science classroom. It is absolutely wonderful to experience from the other side what a magical time this is in a student’s life. I hope something we do together in science class could have the same impact on my students that my teachers had on me.

I think it is important to inspire students to think about their potential each and every day. Today’s students will end up in jobs that don’t even exist yet, and there is no room in that future for the old “No Girls Allowed” view of science. The STEM fields are for everyone and they are exponentially growing fields. Mathematically speaking, if you only prepare half of the population to fill these positions you will leave our economy, and our world, at a severe disadvantage. Young women will be the biologists, physicists, astronomers, engineers, chemists, computer scientists and mathematicians of our future.

Women’s History Month blog by Veronica Leone. Veronica is a STEM Educator at Liberty Science Center.