Physics Girlies – young female science students review the ScienceGrrl 2013 calendar

One of the aims of the ScienceGrrl 2013 calendar (now sold out, sorry!) was to show young women that science is for people just like them, and hopefully inspire them to pursue a career in science. But did we manage it?

I asked the Physics Girlies at Holly Lodge Girls’ College in Liverpool what they thought. This is what they told me, via Kate Doran, the KS3 Science Co-ordinator.

The calendar is closely scrutinised by the Physics Girlies. Good job we checked for typos.

The calendar is closely scrutinised by the Physics Girlies. Good job we checked for typos.

Hannah Fityo
Helen Czerski PhD [January 2014], studies something which I think is really fascinating. She looks at bubbles in breaking waves to understand how they affect our weather and climate. Basically a tiny bubble can lead you into the core of our planets complex weather system! How extraordinary is that?! It must be absolutely remarkable knowing that every day you are a tiny bubble away from discovering something amazing.

Holly Dono
I think that this calendar is very unique. Each month the calendar shows different women in the science world achieving amazing accomplishments. This calendar is very encouraging to young women like me, showing them all of the scientific career opportunities that are available to them. The calendar promotes women who aren’t the stereotypical female scientists and in the descriptions the calendar shows women who have hobbies as well as amazing academic achievements such as running and music. In my opinion this calendar is great; it serves its purpose as I feel encouraged to get involved in the world of science.

Grace Kervin
My favourite part of the calendar is the March page. This is because our science building is called ‘Rosalind Franklin Building’ and Rosalind Franklin herself is mentioned on this page. I didn’t really know why our building was called Rosalind Franklin (I knew she was a Scientist) and I was impressed to read: “by exposing DNA to X-rays, she produced diffraction images that revealed molecular structure”. This page has also opened my eyes to other female scientists, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Jill Tarter, Hedy Lamarr.

The Rosalind Franklin Building at Holly Lodge Girls' College

The Rosalind Franklin Building at Holly Lodge Girls’ College

Samira Hassan
I think the ScienceGrrl calendar was a great idea as it has shown me that there are a lot of things you can do with science. I feel inspired to try hard and never doubt myself and go for whatever career I want and whatever feels right! The calendar’s appearance is attractive and makes me want to look at who the people are in each picture! I think it’s a great way to get ideas for future career paths from the people in the pictures.

Jumanah Ahmen
Personally, I love the calendar. The information, layout and logo are well thought out and you can see the amount of effort that has been put into making this calendar interesting and useful. It is more than just a calendar. I love the science dates that are included one the relevant days and the little facts too.

Lisa Murphy
My favourite part of the calendar is the month May because I would never have looked at these women and said ‘Definitely a scientist’ and I like that! You don’t need to look like the stereotypical scientist shown in the media to be a scientist. The careers on this page are also really interesting to me and are something that I would like to look into for my future.

I’m pretty pleased with that – particular thanks to Lisa, for being so very lovely about May…
anytime you want to talk about careers in Medical Imaging, let me know!

ScienceGrrl volunteers in Liverpool have also visited Holly Lodge Girls’ College so they can meet female science role models for real. It’s so encouraging to us to meet young women who really love science, and to know we are encouraging them to put that love to work in their careers. All the very best to you, Physics Girlies – science needs you!