Sunday, August 2, 2020
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We are down to the one-week countdown. It is crazy how quickly this summer has gone!
I have been preparing for the SPS Intern Closing Symposium, writing an abstract and making my presentation slides. It is really cool to look back on the last two months and seeing everything that I have done. Over the course of the summer, I have completed 3 teaching guides and 3 pieces for outreach (with more outreach on my schedule for early next week). I have included my abstract for the Symposium here for anyone who wants to read it.
Standard historical narratives of physics overlook the substantial contributions of many individuals. Small inclusions regarding the stories of individuals from underrepresented groups in the international physics community can be showcased in lesson plans on a variety of physics topics. I have completed three teaching guides that each introduce a physics topic, highlight the contribution of an individual from an underrepresented group in physics, and include a unique visual element as a tool for classroom engagement and outreach. This presentation includes examples from these lesson plans and discusses explored outreach avenues, particularly regarding science communication writing in the Ex Libris Universum blog at the Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
This week I have really enjoyed getting feedback on outreach content I have been preparing for Ex Libris Universum from the team at the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. I encourage you to look at their blog; they have great posts on their collections and work.
Week Nine has been an exciting week. It has been full of writing projects in which I get to share what I have learned in history and bring in my perspective from physics. I am also happy to say my first teaching guide is uploaded! You can see it here. I am so happy to see the finished product, and I hope it will be useful to teachers.
This week was also exciting for another reason. My family adopted three ducklings that are now a week old! They easily fit in the hand and are so precious. I have two pictures of them to share.
As the ducklings are so small, it is important to keep them dry and warm. However, they have minds of their own and enjoy splashing around in water. After, they huddle together under the heating lamps to dry off.
I have truly enjoyed witnessing pets make appearances during virtual meetings and sharing pictures of the new ducklings. Our pets were a conversational centerpiece for this week's intern hangout.
Maria Stokes