Learn how Ancient Egyptians accomplished the monumental task of building gigantic stone pyramids. Then, explore the world of triangle geometry by using thin toothpicks to create your own sturdy structure.
Sam Marcellus
Girlstart’s Women in STEM weekly series highlights various women who are making a difference in STEM. Be inspired as these incredible women describe how they became interested in their field, provide insight into a day in the life, and share learnings from their experiences.
Sam Marcellus
Bioinformatics Fellow @ Texas Department of State Health Services
Sam began volunteering with Girlstart at our Back to School STEM Saturday event where she loved hearing girls explain to their parents what they were learning. We are so grateful that she is back volunteering her time with us today and telling us about her career in Bioinformatics!
What sparked your interest and made you want to volunteer with Girlstart?
When I was a freshman in college, a fourth-grade girl from my hometown asked me what I was studying. I told her I was studying science and she replied, “Like a boy?” Since then I’ve been volunteering with groups who expose young girls to the vast array of STEM careers available.
Was there a specific person, program, or event in your life that led you to your STEM career?
I worked in a genetics clinic in undergrad and worked with patients who had been diagnosed via newborn screening and patients who were diagnosed later in life. The drastic difference in outcomes between the two groups made me want to pursue a newborn screening related career.
What are your favorite things about your career?
I love that we give kids the best opportunity to have a long and healthy life.
What exactly do you do as a Bioinformatics Fellow?
I write computer code to process and analyze DNA sequencing information for the Texas Newborn Screening Program.
What would you like to tell girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
You have a unique voice in the world. Whatever career you decide to pursue, STEM or otherwise, the field will benefit from your life experiences and your voice. STEM fields often only have men speaking, so women joining the workforce bring new ideas and can spark big change. I have a quote on my desk from Shirley Chisholm for when I’m feeling discouraged, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t belong.
Why is do you think confidence in STEM important for girls?
Confidence in STEM is important for girls so that they aren’t discouraged away from pursuing their passions. There’s always going to be people that think women aren’t qualified to work in STEM, it happened to me on a conference call last week, but if you’re confident in your abilities you can stand up for yourself and persist.
Materials List: Egyptian Virtual Starry Night
We are excited for you to participate in Girlstart’s Virtual Starry Night, including an Egyptian star show and hands-on STEM activities! Gather materials from around the house and join us on Thursday, May 7th for Starry fun.
* The following list contains affiliate links. Girlstart is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Decoding Hieroglyphics
- Hieroglyphics Cipher (included in lesson)
- Hieroglyphics Decoding Challenge page (attached to lesson)
- Paper
- Pencil
Engineer a Pyramid
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- Mini marshmallows (or similar items such as gumdrops, small pieces of modeling clay, Styrofoam packing peanuts, etc.)
- Toothpicks
Foil Boats
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- Aluminum foil
- Bin or bowl (filled with water)
- Paper
- Pencil
- Pennies(or other coins, washers, or similar objects)
Mummified Apples
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- 1/2 apple
- 2 cups
- ½ cup baking Soda
- ¼ cup salt
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Measuring cup
- Mixing bowl
Plants to the Rescue!
Earth Day is the perfect time to learn how you can make the Earth a better place! Our world is full of nature and Girlstart wants you to channel your inner botanist today. A botanist is a special type of scientist who studies plants and how they grow. Let’s explore how we can be more like a botanist. As you might have guessed, it all starts with plants.
Plants help the environment in a bunch of different ways. Sure, they can be pretty and smell nice, but did you know that they are some of the hardest workers in the environment? Let’s look at a few of the ways that planting leafy friends can help our Earth!
Munching on Carbon Dioxide
When you breathe in, you take in oxygen from the air. That oxygen is used to help power your body. But you don’t breathe out that same oxygen. Instead, you breathe out carbon dioxide. In small quantities, carbon dioxide isn’t all bad. But it’s not just us sending carbon dioxide out into the air. When humans burn fossil fuels for energy, much more of that same carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Large amounts of carbon dioxide like this harm the environment.
Lucky for us, carbon dioxide is exactly what plants like to snack on. Plants are considered “carbon sinks” – that means they take in carbon dioxide and use it to make food for themselves. By planting new green friends, you can help remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and reduce air pollution.
Pollution Destroyer
Plants protect water from pollution, too! When there is pollution in rain, plants use their roots as a filter to remove harmful pollutants from ponds, rivers, and lakes.
Stay on Solid Ground
If you live in a place with landslides, trees could be a great help to you! The roots of trees grow into the ground and help to keep it from moving. Without plant roots in the soil, it’s a lot easier for landslides to happen since nothing is left to hold the soil in place.
A Place to Live
Treehouses aren’t the only way that plants can be a home! Throughout nature, plants act as shelter for many animals. They are a great place for small creatures to hide from predators and birds to make their nests. Big plants, like trees, provide shade for all types of animals and plants and protect them from overheating in the sun.
Plants are amazing environmental helpers! They provide so much more to our daily lives than just being something nice to look at. Join Girlstart as we wrap up celebrating Earth Day by working in your garden or maybe even planting some seeds!