Celebrating Women in Science ~ Archaeology and Architecture

Archaeology: Cool Women who Dig
by Anita Yasuda; illus. by Lena Chandhok
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2017

March is Women's History month, and I can't think of anything more appropriate than to share a couple of books from Nomad's "Girls in Science" series.

Archaeology begins by making an important distinction between collecting and archeology - you might have a stamp or coin collection, but archaeological collections demand careful notes and context that provides insight into he society that created the artifacts.

Chelsea Rose, for example, studies a Gold Rush town in Oregon. In addition to field work and interviews, she researches census records, mining claims, and newspapers. Justine Benanty is another archaeologist, but her passion is maritime archaeology and slave ships. So in addition to sifting through documents, she dives deep into cold water to uncover the facts.

Our world may be mapped, but the past remains largely unexplored. Which means there is a lot of room for you - if you love history and enjoy solving mysteries. It's not all about deserts and dirt - there are space archaeologists, and garden archaeologists!

Architecture: Cool Women who Design Structures
by Elizabeth Schmermund; illus. by Lena Chandhok
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2017

Are you creative? Do you like solving problems? Architecture combines art and science - not only do you have to understand physics and engineering, but you get to design beautiful buildings. Or bridges.

Patricia Galvan designs post offices and modernized schools. She works at a small firm where she gets to see projects through, from start to finish. Farida Abu-Bakare remembers that she was inspired by the computer game "Sim City". And Maia Small is an urban designer. She remembers building structures in her back yard when she was a kid.

While the young women agree that the jobs they do are fun and challenging, they say that they are treated differently than men in the same position. They tend to be cut off when talking, or their proposals may not be taken seriously by their male colleagues. Still, they can't think of more fulfilling work. Their advice: study hard and try to get a mentor when you head into the working world.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup . Review copies from the publisher.