7/6/18- Summer STEM Experiment: Pool Noodle Math Game

How to make summer swimming a learning task, you ask? One where your math happy kid will grin and your language happy kid will groan?  Create a math game using a foam pool noodle of course!

YOU WILL NEED:

A Foam Pool Noddle
Scissors or Exacto Knife
Permanent Marker (my fav is Sharpie)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Cut the pool noodle into 10 pieces (even is good, but it's fine if you don't-- I have no perfectionist requirement on cutting the noodle into even pieces).  This step should probably be done by an adult since scissors or an Exacto knife are involved.

2) Using the permanent marker, write one number, 1-10, on each pool noodle piece (also make a 7 ate 9 joke as you number).

3) Throw the numbered pool noodle pieces into a pool (this pool should be a pool you have permission to use).

4) Have the child(ren) retrieve the numbers you call out: "3! 10! 5!" etc.


Variations on the pool noodle math swimming games:

• If you have an older child, tell them to retrieve 10-7; 36/6; 4+5; etc. 

• If you have a child under 2, you can put shapes on pool noodle pieces and create your own shape game.

• If you have a language lover, you can cut the pool noodle into 26 pieces and put one letter of the alphabet on each and create your own language game. 

Have fun swimming this summer, and always remember pool safety with your kids!

4/25/18- Science Experiment: Edible Starburst Slime

With Arizona teachers walking out tomorrow, which I totally support!, you might find your kid at home and looking for something to do.  Or maybe you're in a state where there is no walk out, but you'll need something to do this weekend.  Enter Edible Starburst Slime-- the science experiment is sure to give your kids a sugar high and then a sugar crash, so let's call it a win? 

YOU'LL NEED:

Starbursts

Powdered Sugar

Double Boiler Pot
Non-Stick Cooking Mat if you have one
Parental Supervisor for stove usage

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Boil a pot of water and place a glass bowl over the pot (hence a double boiler) to melt the Starbursts. I actually have a fancy double boiler pot from Sur Le Table, so that's what you see in my pictures, but a glass bowl works great too. 

2) Constantly stir the Starburst so that they don't burn.  Once melted, remove from heat (place on pot holder or a burner that's turned off).

3) Spread powdered sugar onto the non-stick cooking mat.  If you have those fancy silicon cooking/baking gloves, you can go ahead and grab your melted Starbursts. If not, then wait until you can touch it without burning yourself, but it's still melty (yep, that's a made up adjective).

4) Knead the Starburst into the powdered sugar until it's stretchy and mildly sticky... like slime. Actually, it will be more like play dough. So, we got cookie cutters out and cut shapes out of our edible Starburst slime.  

Note, it will eventually go back to a harden Starburst state; it won't be slime forever, but you can always heat it back up to make it sticky again.

Of course, on the favorite parts for us was eating this slime!  Happy science experimenting! 

3/15/18- Spring Science Experiment: Dissolving Peeps

Okay, I'd admit this science experiment is a little sadistic--it's dissolving Peeps! 😲  What did those poor, cute Peeps ever do to me? Besides be a delicious Easter binge, followed by lots of teeth brushing?  I mean, at least I'm not encouraging you and your children to blow the Peeps up in the microwave.  And truth be told, whether dissolving Peeps or exploding them, it is mad fun science!  Cue mad scientist laugh: baw ha, ha, ha!

Alright, now that that is out of my system, let's dissolve some Peeps!  This experiment is a modified version of ye ol' baking soda and vinegar reaction.

YOU WILL NEED:

A jar
A pan to sit the jar on and another plate to pour baking soda onto
A microwave safe cup/mug that has a handle, preferably a Pyrex measuring cup
A spoon
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of water
And most important, Peeps

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Set Up: place a jar inside a pan (the pan will catch overflow liquids) and pour some baking soda onto the plate.  Keep the rest of the baking soda handy.

Set Up

2) On the plate, coat the Peep in baking soda. The natural sweet stickiness of a Peep allows for the baking soda to adhere to it.

 Coating the Peep in Baking Soda

3) In the Pyrex measuring cup, pour 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water.  Microwave this mixture until it starts to boil (about 1.5 minutes in the microwave).

4) Carefully, carefully remove (a hot pad to grab the cup's handle might be a good idea) the HOT vinegar/water mixture from the microwave and slowly and carefully pour about half of it into the jar. *Adults, you may want to be in charge of this step since the mixture is HOT.*

5) Drop your baking soda coated peep into the jar.

 Dear Peep, Science Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

6) The classic baking soda and vinegar reaction is taking place.  This reaction will need to be sustained for about 3-4 minutes.  So when the bubbles start to fade, with a spoon, scope some new baking soda into the jar. Then pour a little more HOT vinegar/water mixture (again, *Adults you may want to be in charge of the pouring of HOT liquids*).  Keep alternating between scoping baking soda and pouring vinegar/water until the Peep is dissolved.

Keep Up the Bubbles (Reaction) for 3-4 Minutes

Eeek! Those Are the Peeps Eyes Floating On Top!

What Remains 

(After 2 Minutes of Reaction)

Jack's favorite part of this whole mad experiment-- eating the Peeps!  Happy spring time and happy science experimenting!

What You Should Do with Peeps

Bonus Fun: Why Not Throw a Peep into the Microwave and See What Happens?
1) Put the Peep on a plate.
2) Set the microwave to 15 seconds.
3) Watch it expand.

Kaboom! Explosion!  Baw, ha, ha, ha! 

Warning: Peeps were harmed in the making of this science experiment.  All safety lays with the user(s) of the experiment/science experimenter(s). 

3/5/18- SWE and Me

I meant to have a post the week of February 19 about Engineers Week.  Engineers Week, or E-Week as most engineers refer to it, celebrates how engineers make a difference in the world.  But I got a little too busy celebrating.  First up in my E-Week celebrations was the 2017 KEZ Beth McDonald Woman of the Year Award.  I was a nominee thanks to my dear husband (after complaining to him about how I don't think I'll ever again receive an award from my company).  I was Ms. October, meaning I was nominated in the month of October.  I attended an awesome reception at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch, and my dear husband and two of my mentors (and friends) joined me.

I am happy to report that I did not win Woman of the Year; yes, happy.  The winner was Elizabeth Singleton, who is the president of Build Us H.O.P.E.  The nonprofit offers housing programs primarily targeted to veterans and the seriously mentally ill, disabled or chronically homeless. Pretty amazing, right?  It's pretty hard to be disappointed losing to such an amazing woman.  And as cliche as it is, I felt like a winner just being a nominee.  I had a really great time celebrating with my hubby and friends (and strangers, some which became friends).  It's an evening I'll never forget. 

2017 KEZ Beth McDonald Woman of the Year Nominees and Winner 
(Elizabeth, the winner, is in the middle/in the red sweater)

Part of the reason I was nominated is for my volunteer work with the nonprofit Society of Women Engineers, or SWE.  I'm currently the Vice President of the local Phoenix section and have done various K-12 STEM outreach with SWE.  SWE really means a lot to me; it's for sure a favorite nonprofit of mine. SWE's mission is to stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity.

The regional SWE conference just also happened to be taking place the day after the Woman of the Year Award. So I got to continue my E-Week celebration with one of my favorites nonprofits. I participated in the conference's SWENext Design Lab-- Design Lab is an experience designed to encourage girls to choose a career in engineering (more K-12 STEM outreach, yay!).  I mentored a team of six female middle school students through two engineering design and build experiments/projects.  The girls didn't really need my help, they were all well versed in STEM, but we all had a fun time.  

I love being able to mentor the next generation of engineers, and I especially love being able to volunteer and pay it forward to SWE.  SWE has done so much for me personally.  When I first joined in college (2001!), I was just looking for a resume filler.  However, I soon made many friends, finding support and help with classes, internships and jobs,  and really all things an engineering undergrad needs.  I don't think I would have stuck with engineering if I wasn't in SWE (and okay, also encouragement from my parents; got to give them a little bit of credit 😉).  

Mentoring the Next Gen

I know for sure I wouldn't have gotten my first (and only) internship without SWE. The collegiate section sent out an email saying that Medtronic was looking for interns, so I sent an email to Medtronic with my resume attached, referencing that I heard about the job through SWE.  I also know for sure that I wouldn't have gotten a job with my current company without SWE.  I had applied to a SWE Phoenix scholarship for local collegiate SWE students, and I was one of the winners!  I accepted my scholarship at the 2004 regional SWE conference, and a recruiter from my current company approached me. She said she'd like me to apply to work for the company.   And well, here it is 13 years later.   

But more than that, it's given me the network and support that I've needed over the years to actually stay in this industry.  My mentors that attended the Woman of the Year Award with me have both been part of my SWE network (although we did first meet through work); one of my mentors is the current SWE Phoenix President (hi Syronna! you rock!).  I also meet my current Working Engineer Moms Facebook Group and its admins through SWE; this Facebook group has been a lifeline as a working mom (and engineer).  I'm pretty sure without this wonderful network of engineers, without SWE, I would have left engineering 13 years ago.  A sincere thank you to all my SWE'esters.  Thank you for being there for me.     

If you want to learn more about SWE and their mission to support women in engineering in all phases of their careers (and men can be members too! remember He for She), here's a link to their website: http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/

If you live in Phoenix metro area and want to nominate an amazing woman for the KEZ Beth McDonald WoY Award, here's more info: https://kez999.iheart.com/contests/999-kez-and-shea-homes-40626/  Thank you to Beth McDonald and KEZ and their sponsors of this award for acknowledging the very cool and amazing women in our city!  Thank you Bobby, my family and my friends for all of your support.  And also thank you to the other 11 nominees for being such an inspiration for our local community! 

2/6/18- Reading List 5: Women of Color STEM Picture Books

Another author recently tweeted about moving past "'Here's a list of diverse books!' and progress to a day where ALL of our lists- about science books, mysteries, romance, etc. - are diverse."  But I think to get to subconscious diversity and inclusion in books, you have to take deliberate and conscious action.  A list purposely showcasing kick-shark Women of Color (WoC) in STEM is needed-- it is what facilitates the discussion of diversity and inclusion in books and gets authors writing diverse characters into their stories.  And it's the same with engineering.  Our industry has to deliberately take action to increase the number of women and people of color because honestly, I don't think diversity and inclusion would happen in engineering without conscious action.

Alright, enough philosophizing and more showcasing.  Here's my list of picture books featuring kick-shark women in STEM in honor of Black History Month.  And if I missed one of your favorites WoC in STEM picture books, please call me out on it.  I want to know; I want to add that book to my list!  Thanks in advance!

1) Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race 
Written by Margot Lee Shetterly and Illustrated by Laura Freeman
The story of NASA mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden and their contributions to America's first journeys into space.

2) The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath 

Written by Julia Finley Mosca and Illustrated by Daniel Rieley
Dr. Bath is responsible for a game-changing treatment for blindness.


3) Mae Among the Stars
Written by Roda Ahmed and Illustrated by Stasia Burrington
The story of young Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space.

4) Fly High!: The Story of Bessie Coleman 
Written by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger and Illustrated by Teresa Flavin
Bessie became the first African-American to earn a pilot's license.


5) Shirley Ann Jackson (part of the My Itty-Bitty Bio series)
Written by Virginia Loh-Hagan
This book examines the life of physicist Shirley Ann Jackson, a National Medal of Science recipient for Physical Science.

6) Sweet Dreams Sarah: From Slavery to Inventor 
Written by Vivian Kirkfield and Illustrated by Chris Ewald
The story of Sarah B. Goode, one of the first African-American women to get a US patent.


7) The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague (coming Fall 2018)
Written by Julia Finely Mosca and Illustrated by Daniel Rieley
Raye Montague worked as a mathematician for the US Navy and forever changed the design of ships.

More books that mention WoC in STEM:

1) Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Written by Vashti Harrison
Although this book covers women in professions outside of STEM,  Alice Ball, a chemist who performed research on Leprosy, a well as Bessie Coleman and Katherine Johnson, are highlighted in the book.

2) Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Written by Rachel Ignotofsky
And although this book covers white women and women of color in various STEM fields, NASA mathematician and computer scientist Annie Easley and psychologist Mamie Phillips Clark, who performed the Doll Experiment (which lead to proof that segregation damaged children), are featured in the book.


I wonder without Mamie Phillips Clark's research if authors today would even be thinking about representing children of color in their books. And speaking of books that represent children of color, 2 fiction picture books that have girls of color as the main character are How to Code a Sand Castle and Ada Twist, Scientist.  Both are great fiction picture books to check out in addition to the non-fiction books listed above.  Happy reading everybody!

12/18/17- Holiday Science Experiment: Make Your Own Snow

When you live in a warm weather place like Phoenix, you rarely receive snowfall (it has happened though). So if you don't get snow, then why not make some?  That's exactly what Jack, Bobby, our friend Colton, and some neighborhood kids did this weekend. It will make for a fun winter break and holiday science experiment.  And it's super easy to do!

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups of baking soda
1/2 cup of hair conditioner (suggest white in color so that it looks like snow)
glitter (optional)
large plastic container or large pan
"snow" tools: beads, toothpicks, cookie cutters or Play-Doh tools, ribbon and googling eyes for snow people


INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour baking soda into container.
2. Pour conditioner into container.
3. Stir together with a spoon (or your hands).  Snow should be like sand.
4. Let the play begin!

I will give you a word of caution: your child(ren) may want to make snowballs and then throw said snowball at you.  The good news is that this snow cleans up easily.  So I suggest wearing play clothes (or if you live in Phoenix, bathing suites to hose down the "snow" covered kids, haha) and doing the snow outside (just like real snow, haha).

Jack, Colton, and the neighborhood kids enjoyed the snow-- long after we ran out of baking soda and conditioner, they kept asking for more snowballs.  It makes me so happy when Jack and friends enjoy one of my science experiments. Parenting, and engineering, win! 😀

And for those who have children older than 3, you can explain how mixing the baking soda and conditioner together creates an exothermic reaction, which is the same type of reaction in the formation of real snow (exothermic is a chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of heat or light). And if you want an endothermic reaction, like the reaction that melting snow is, then pour some vinegar on top of your fake snow.  Below is a video to help your children learn more about exothermic and endothermic reactions.  Happy Snow-lidays! ⛄

7/11/17- Reading List 3: Non-Fiction Books for Adults

As a child, I read a lot during summer break.  A lot.  I'd go to the public library and check out a stack of 12 books at a time, and a couple of weeks later, turn those 12 in for a new stack. Call me a nerd if you must, that word is a compliment to me (as an adult), but I wasn't a bored child during the summer.  That's for sure.

So to me, summer time equals the perfect time for reading. Really, any time you can squeeze in a book as a busy adult is a good time, but summer for me means it's the perfect time to squeeze in lots of reading.  And that's why this reading list is dedicated to us adults (past reading lists for preschoolers to 2nd graders and teens).  Let's squeeze in sometime to read, follow adults!

1) "Why Not Me?" by Mindy Kaling

First, it's funny and pretty quick to read.  I read it a few years ago, and then suggested it to a book club last summer-- I was re-reading it for the summer and started sharing excerpts with Bobby, and he thought those excerpts were so funny, that he asked if we could read Mindy's book together.  Second, this book has some good career advice in it.  Also, if you're in an industry where there's an over representation of a certain demographic, this book may provide comfort (it did for me).

2) "It's Not Rocket Science" by Mary Spio

Mary is a satellite engineer turned entrepreneur, so of course I wanted to read this book (a female engineer whose crushing it, shark yes!).  This book is really about how to become entrepreneur, but Mary does share some of her own personal story. She was an immigrant from Ghana and she became on engineer with patents, which lead to her starting her own company.  Hearing her story was the part I liked best and very inspiring.  Her entrepreneurial and changing-the-game career advice is on the optimistic side, so I think this a good read to give yourself a boost if you're down in the dumps about your career.  Sometimes we just need the positive message. 

3) "Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler

This book made me laugh and cry so hard.  Amy talks about everything from her childhood, to just starting out in the comedy business, to marriage, kids, and divorce, to working in a male dominated field, and to moon hunting (you'll have to read the book to find out what that is).  And she wrote it all in a way that made me relate and empathize with everything, even though I've never done stand-up, worked for SNL, or been married to Will Arnett.  I have enjoyed all the books on this list, but if you forced me to pick just one for you to read, "Yes, Please" is the one I'd recommend.

4) "Lean In" by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg

There's a lot commentary on this book- a lot of its bad, but a lot of its good.  While I didn't agree with everything the authors wrote in this book, it is still a good book for both men and women to read to start to understand the issues working women have.   

5) "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

I've already written a review of Hidden Figures, which you can read here, but its a great book to read during the summer and to read in intervals.  If you've seen the movie and found the movie inspiring, you will also find this book uplifting.  I also enjoyed reading about the Civil Rights movement and wars that were happening in parallel to Katherine, Dorothy and Mary.

6) Bossypants by Tina Fey

Again, a really funny book.  And again, Bobby and I read it together and laughed much at Tina's words.  In Tina's book, the career advice isn't so straight forward as Mindy's or Amy's.  If I remember correctly, Tina writes somewhere in the book that she doesn't want to give straight out career advice (because each of us have unique situations or something along those lines), so it's kind of more just work stories. Those work stories are very entertaining though, and you might even find yourself going, yep I've had one of those moments.  

That's it for this list-- I'll have more adult, teen, and kid reading list soon enough.  And since you're smart, you recognized the pattern here for this list: autobiography/biography or person sharing career journey/career advice and all written by women.  If you have fiction book recommendations or other career and biography book recommendations (written by both women and men), then please share these recommendations in the comments!  I'm always looking for a new book to read.  Happy summer reading everyone! 

6/19/17- STEM Activity: Marshmallow Catapult

Happy Summer!  Have fun building this Marshmallow Catapult and googling tension, torsion, and gravity, which are the forces involved when catapulting an object.

Supplies:
7 Wooden Skewers
1 Rubber Band
1 Plastic Spoon
Masking Tape
4 Large Marshmallows, plus marshmallows for shooting

1) Use 3 marshmallows and 3 skewers and form a triangle for the base.
2) Use 3 more skewers and 1 more marshmallow and form a pyramid.
3) Tape the plastic spoon to the end of the remaining skewer.
4) Loop the rubber band around the topmost marshmallow.
5) Insert the spoon and skewer combo through the rubber band.
6) Connect the skewer and spoon combo to one of the base marshmallows.
7) Put a marshmallow into the spoon and shoot.
8) Try shooting the marshmallow again, but this time pull the spoon further back.  Did the marshmallow go further? Did the marshmallow go higher?
9) Try other adjustments to the catapult. How far can you get the marshmallow to go?  How high can you get the marshmallow to go?

6/14/17- The Women Whose Shoulders I Stand On

I finally finished reading the book "Hidden Figures" (by Margot Lee Shetterly in case you didn't know).  I started reading the book back in March; it took me a long time to finish.  It's not because the book isn't great; it is.  It's not because I didn't like Mary, Dorthy, and Katherine; I immensely admire them. It's not because I thought the writing awful; I though Margot had perfect prose for a historical narrative book. It's not because I found a historical narrative book boring; I was deeply fascinated by the history.

It's because I have about 30 minutes a day for reading (that's a lot for some working parents, I know, be jealous). And sometimes I read op-ed or news articles instead of books.  And sometimes I read things on Facebook or Twitter and get really annoyed and wished I had read the next chapter in "Hidden Figures" instead.  If you are like me, and don't have much time, books like "Hidden Figures" are perfect for you.  I could read one chapter, and if it was many days later until I could read the next chapter, I didn't feel lost at what the plot was. I think it's also a reason I liked Mindy Kaling's "Why Not Me?" and Amy Poehler's "Yes, Please."  If I couldn't come back to the book for a few days, no problem.  I wasn't going to loose my place or forget what had happened in the plot.

But I digress.  If you've seen the movie, "Hidden Figures," then I highly recommend you read the book.  If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend you read the book.  Another reason I really liked the book is that it was a historical narrative.  The movie really focused on the 3 women, Mary, Dorthy, and Katherine, and had dialogue between people and Hollywood suspense (check the numbers as count down happens! Yeah, that didn't happen in real life; it was at least 3 days prior to the space flight). The book does focus on these 3 awesome women, but more in a bibliography way (remember reading and writing those in elementary school?) where you get this sequential telling of their lives with some emotional insight and direct quotes from them (no dialogue).  

You also get a bibliography of what is happening at NACA/NASA--their testing planes during wartime, adhering to presidential employment orders to hire people of color, and other chronological order information.  You also get what is happening in the country's history (USA)-- Rosa Park's refusal to move to the back of the bus, Dr. King's "I Have a Dream," Virginia's stupid and sickly stubbornness to integrate schools. I enjoyed learning about the background of NASA and the USA, the good and the bad. 

There's definite low points (some shark stuff the USA did) in the integrated stories of these women, NASA, and, the USA, but it is a story of  inspiration.  As Margot puts it "It's a story of hope, that even among some of our country's harshest realities-legalized segregation, racial discrimination- there is evidence of the triumph of meritocracy, that each of us should be allowed to rise as far as our talent and hard work can take us."

I do not understand what it was like to be a black, female engineer back in the 1950s and 1960s, nor do I fully understand what it is like to day to be a black, female engineer. I do have empathy, and that empathy fills me with a hope-- minorities, females, minority females will be allowed to rise as far as their talent and hard work can take them.  I promise to pay forward the benefits that I have reaped for standing on the shoulders of these women, Mary, Dorthy, Katherine, and all the female engineers who came before.  My accomplishments are in part because I stand on your very strong shoulders. Sincerely thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

5/18/17- The Mentors

A few weeks ago I interviewed my former manager as part of a series I'm writing for STEMedia.   It was a little surreal to be asking her questions about how she became an engineer, her past life (she was a dairy farmer for 13 years before studying engineering), advice for others studying STEM disciplines and so on.  She probably doesn't know this, but I've long considered her a mentor.  I never formally asked her to mentor me-- I just watched her outstanding ability as a manager, and hoped that one day when I was a manager, that I'd be able to follow her example.

She really cares about her employees and their careers/career happiness. She was the only manager I've ever felt I could be completely honest with and that she'd really listen to me. Even people who didn't report to her sought her confidence and advice.  She also made work fun-- a Halloween party with a Thriller flash mob dance is not something too many managers would coordinate.  That's the kind of manager I'd like to be. I probably won't have the opportunity at my current work place to be a manager, but one day I won't be there, and at the new place, if I'm responsible for people's careers, I'm totally modeling my management style after her.

She also has a pretty amazing and inspiring story of how she became an engineer, reinforcing my belief that engineers come for anywhere, and a child just needs to know that the opportunity exists for them.  Maybe you're curious now about her story, and for that you'll just have to wait for the STEMedia piece to come out. That's what writer's call a hook. :)

STEMedia already has one of the interviews I did up on their website, and the person I interviewed for that story is also a mentor.   I also don't think she knows that, but I totally look up to her as well. She's the person that I daydream and scheme with, and part of why I've dabbled in children's books. We both want to encourage and inspire girls in STEM.  In face, she started her own company to inspire girls, particularly minority girls, in STEM, and I really admire her for taking that chance. Starting your own company while still working as an engineer is pretty awesome (to me).  How could I not look up to this person?  And her story is totally already up on STEMedia, so I encourage you to check it out.

Of course there's many more people in engineering that I admire, and you'll soon be reading about them. Most likely on STEMedia, but maybe also here on my blog.  On the days I feel like shark (from the RA, annoying workplace, and such), I forget some of my blessings.  Having great mentors is a blessing, and I'm so thankful to these women for teaching me so much.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Tell me who your mentors are and why you admire them in the comments!
Here's the link to STEMedia: http://stemedia.org/

3/8/17- Reading List 2: STEM Picture Books

Last week I suggested a science activity, Galaxy Slime, as a spring break activity, and this week I'm suggesting books for spring break. Almost a year ago (eek, that's too long!) I created a reading list, recommending books for girls (and boys), ages preteen to teen, to get them interested in STEM. That list is here: Reading List.  It was based off of what I read at that age and how those books influenced in some way my career path to engineering. Today, there are many Middle Grade and Young Adult (preteen to teen) books that have STEM in them (for example "Hidden Figures For Young Readers") that were not included in my recommendations.  Again, my recommendations were based off of my own experience.

I've created a second reading list, this time focusing on preschoolers to about 2nd graders.  The books I remember loving at this age were Berenstain Bears series, Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Curious George series, Madeline series, Frances series (i.e. A Bargain for Frances), and Imogene's Antlers. With the exception of Curious George, I really liked books that had girls as main characters. Probably because I could myself reflected in those female characters.  Some of those girls were spunky: Imogene, Madeline, Sister Bear (at least when she was fighting with Brother Bear) and Frances.  And Curious George? While he encouraged curiosity in me (and spunk; that might have been a theme for me).

With that all said, the books I'm recommending for this second reading list (to encourage preschoolers to 2nd graders in STEM) are more current picture book. Of course, feel free to read the classics mentioned in the paragraph above, but these recent books are specifically focused on STEM. It's a short list-- I envision I'll have many more lists as my son grows and as other parents, teachers, grandparents and friends make recommendations to me.

Here we go:

1) "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts
This book is my favorite STEM book for pre-K to 2nd! I dream of writing such book.  The author (and illustrator) have 2 companion books, "Iggy Peck, Architect" and "Ada Twist, Scientist", but to me this is the best one of the series (probably because she's spunky and an engineer).

2) "What Do You Do with an Idea?" By Kobi Yamada and Illustrated by Mae Besom
Kobi also has another book "What Do You Do with a Problem?" but I prefer this book. One of my nephew's wants to be an inventor, and I just had to give him this book.

3) Usborne's "Look inside How Computers Work" Written by Alex Frith and Rosie Dickins and Illustrated by Colin King
Usborne has a lot of good science, technology, computer, engineering type books, but this book is the one we own. Jack loves lifting the flaps at age 2 (I think he'll appreciate the information soon enough).

4) "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires
Also great for budding inventors.

5) "Chicken in Space" by Adam Lehrhaupt
Found this book pretty funny, and (to me) shows where imagination meets science.

6) Sweet Dreams Sarah: From Slavery to Inventor by  Vivian Kirkfield and Illustrated by Chris Ewald
The story of Sarah B. Goode, one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. It's on Jack's to read list!

7) "Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering" by Ruth Spiro and Illustrated by Irene Chan
Fun book to introduce planes and flight to preschoolers (and babies).

And finally, *shameless self-promotion alert* I recommend "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician."  What recommendations would you make? Leave a comment here or on social media. I'd love to discover more STEM books for children.  Happy spring break! Happy reading!

(I'll have to work on a list for 3rd-6th graders next. There's some overlap from the preteen recommendations, but I'll get on it. In about year. ;-)).

3/2/17- Spring Break STEM Activity

Spring break is right around the corner for many kids!  Not Jack, as he is in daycare/preschool (which doesn't close for spring break), and he basically just took a week off for a cold. So to preschool for him, and to work for Bobby and me. We'll take him on vacation in late summer/early fall, so don't feel too bad that he doesn't get spring break.

Since spring break is right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to share another STEM activity.  The activity won't entertain your kids for a whole week (or maybe it could if they end up really liking it), but it is pretty fun.  The professional engineering society that I belong to did the activity at Chase Field's STEM Night, and then we recently did it at E-Day at the AZ Science Center. Not sure if the engineers or kids had more fun.

Without further ado, Galaxy Slime! The slime is so popular right now, check out the MSN video "Slime Fad is Back." I like to think our engineering society started the trend, but most likely we did not.

Supplies Needed:
Bowl
Spoon
1 cup Elmer's Glue (white or clear work)
1 cup Liquid Starch (we used the Walmart brand, Stay-Flo)
Food Coloring (optional)
Glitter (optional)
Plastic Bag (optional)

Instructions:
1) Put the glue into the bowl first.
2) Stir in food coloring and glitter, if desired.
3) Slowly stir in the liquid starch in increments.  You probably won't use the full cup of liquid starch.
4) Stir until you don't see the "white" liquid starch.  Then switch to kneading the slime with your hands, checking how stretchy the slime is.  If you want it stretchy vs.gak, again you probably won't use the full cup of liquid starch.
5) After your child is done playing with their slime, they can save it in a plastic bag (or Tupperware).

Jack's galaxy slime has lasted for a week after he made it at E-Day.  He liked mixing the colors and glitter in the glue, but he lost interest in the final product.  I do think this activity is fun to do with toddlers (who are past the put everything in their mouth stage), just remember toddlers are going to need more help with the food coloring than a 10 year old is (Jack squeezed like 100 drops in because I thought he could do it himself, haha).

It is great for ages 2-99. Thought I'd take the Lego approach there; after 99, you just won't find this activity or Legos fun. Oh, and it's called Galaxy Slime, because if you add color and glitter, it looks like a Galaxy!  Also, the glue and starch combine to make a polymer! Happy (STEM) Spring Break!

2/23/17- Happy E-Week: Where Does Time Go?!

The last time I posted to this blog was almost a month ago, holy shark (batman)! And here's the cliche, where did the time go?! I guess most of it went to Jack, Bobby, friends, family, work, the usual stuff. Although, some not so usual stuff happened too. I went to a conference! I gave a presentation at that conference! I did an author visit to Jack's preschool! I had to cancel another school visit because Jack was sick! Jack spent 2 nights in a row coughing!

So the last one is not fun for anyone, but especially Jack. He got some kind of nasty cold, although colds this time of year are not unusual for our household. He has had a hard time sleeping, with hour long cough spouts at 2 am. We've done humidifier, Vick's, Zarbee's, Tylenol/Ibuprofen (only when fever was present, which was once theses past few days thankfully), essential oils--the only thing that works for his night time coughing fit is waiting it out. The doctor said this illness appears to be viral, so we can't antibiotic it (I want to reassure you  and myself that the doctor verified that his lungs sound fine and ears look clear). The 2 am wake up calls feel like infancy all over again, where we are all walking, sleep-deprived zombies the next day.

Don't despair too much for our little guy though. During the day, he plays, eats, etc. like there's nothing wrong. Just a little runny nose, so he still wants to go run around on the playground and ride his trike and all the normal 2 year old stuff. I wish I had more sick time off from work or no work deadlines (a report is due to our customer by end of month, got it done though!) because I fully want to dedicate myself to Jack's healing. Reality is I can't. I have to remotely log in and get shark done (as well as not burn all my vacation/sick time) while he naps or watches "Cars" for the fiftieth time.

Poor Kid

It's a little stressful, as most working parents know.  In fact, I think any parent, whether they work in (ie stay at home) or outside of the home, knows just how stressful a sick kid is. We know the cold will end, but the time between contracting it and it going away, well, it makes life more interesting. And like I said early, I want nothing more to do than to fully commit myself to Jack's recovery, but this week was bad timing for a cold. I was supposed to go to a middle school and give a speech on how awesome engineering for Engineers' Week (E-Week), but I had to cancel to take care of Jack. I will always put Jack above giving a speech, but I do feel I let down a lot of students yesterday. Although, they're middle schoolers, so there's a chance they don't care. Still, cancelling an obligation like that, well it's hard.  I feel like I let down those kids, their teacher, and my profession.

In uplifting news though, I got to do my first author visit (where an author goes to a school, reads their book and/or gives a presentation)!  And the best part of my first visit was that it was with Jack's preschool!  Most of the preschoolers seemed to enjoy me reading "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician", and when I got to Jack's class (the last class of the visit), Jack was so confused as to why I was there. He was like, oh it's time to go? Cool, let me just grab my blanket. Wait, why is everyone sitting down around my mommy? Why is she starting to read Annie? But he sat down right next to me and helped his class start of the counting (which is in the book). It was so funny and cute. And now he asks for me to read Annie all the time. :)

Look, I'm Presenting at a Conference

I also went to my annual engineering love-fest conference the weekend of February 10th, and I presented there too!  My presentation went really well, at least that's what my engineering friends told me. :) And I sold a couple of books! Mostly, I had a really good time, and this conference always renews my interest to remain in this gosh shark profession (engineering)! I want to be an engineer when I grow up (for the most part; I'd really like to do so at a new company, see previous BAW posts)!

I'll be at E-Day (at the Arizona Science Center) this Saturday, which also does a good job of renewing my interest in the profession, as part the Greater Phoenix Area's E-Week Celebration. Tons of engineering organizations will be at E-Day, doing lots of cool hands on STEM experiments. I'll be at the SWE booth, and SWE will be making slime with the kids who stop by our booth.  If you live in the Phoenix area, please stop by the SWE booth, say hi, and make some slime!

Also, just in time for E-Week, check out my Goodreads Giveaway (below)!  It starts February 26 and ends March 5. You'll have the chance to win 1 of 5 signed books!

Happy E-Week everyone!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Annie Aardvark, Mathematician

by Suzie Olsen

Giveaway ends March 06, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

1/27/17- Everything is Coming Up Milhouse!

Fellow Simpsons' fans probably recall when Milhouse declares, "Everything is coming up Milhouse!" If not, I've provided a clip below.  That is how I am feeling right now, that "everything is coming up Milhouse!"

My picture book, "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician" came out last week!  It's been over a year since I first drafted the story, and now it's a physical book.  I'm so excited about the book! I'm also excited to get it in the hands of kids. especially minorities and girls, to promote STEM. It's a dream come true, and I'm truly thankful to all my friends and family who are supporting me and buying the book. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Special thanks to my hubby and son.  Jack is the most beautiful thing that I (and Bobby) have ever created, and "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician" is the second most beautiful thing that I have created. The opportunity for me to create beauty again is priceless....or $9.99 on Amazon. :-D

Buy Annie Aardvark, Mathematician

And finally, someone who was in the same grad program as me started the really cool company Tech Love, and long story short, I wrote a blog/op-ed for Tech Love about what it is like to be a female engineer.  Check it out here! https://techlove.io/female-engineer/

And so yeah, I'm on cloud nine!  Even the lack of career progression (at my company) isn't getting me down. Even a toddler's "no, Annie! Blue train!" request (for which book to read at bedtime) isn't getting me down. Because everything is coming up Suzie, I mean Milhouse!  I've got flood pants, and I've got the geek charmed life right now.  Happy weekend to you all!

1/6/17- Don't Get Sick in Engineering (or other industries for that matter)

Welcome New Year!  I'm rearing and ready to go!  I'm ready to bring you this PSA: Whatever you do, do not get sick in Engineering.  I don't mean a cold or flu that goes away after a couple of weeks, I mean a chronic illness.  Being sick will hurt your career in engineering. And most likely in other industries as well, but today my focus is on the industry I work in, engineering and my observations. 

Engineering is competitive.  Don't be fooled by the stereotype of the mild-mannered nerd; we're out for intellectual blood in this industry.  Got a B+ on your Calc II test? Ha, I got an A-! Got a job at a government contractor? Ha, I got a job at the Fortune 500 Silicon Valley tech giant!  The best one (in my opinion), the not so subtle brag about how hard you've been working. Man, I'm wiped from working 50 hours this week.  Yeah, me too dude, those 60 hours I worked, they were killer. We get into pissing matches about how our company is willing to take advantage of our desire to beat out the other guy. I mean, overtime.  We get into pissing matches about overtime (companies would never exploit us, never). 

Side note to engineering managers: if you ever need to motive your workforce to work overtime, just say your star pupil is already doing 50 hours a week, even if they're not. End of side note.   Sure, there are a few humble engineers, who aren't competitive and ambitious (not that either is bad per say), but it is rare to find that engineer who thinks that teachers or waiters have harder jobs than they do.  Math decathlon is a sport, and the winner matters-- engineers can be competitive, as the next academically smart smug intellect. Myself included (when I was a hostess at Chili's in college, studying engineering, I thought I was way too good for this job; that job probably brought me just as much stress, maybe even more, than my current job. Have you ever had to sit people at Chili's on a Friday night in the early aught? It's a logistics nightmare, parenthesis ramble over). 

Early in my engineering career, I joked with a friend and colleague that one day I'll be VP of this company.  He joked, not if I beat you there first.  I wasn't completely arrogant, I knew that one day would be 20+ years down the road, but I had ambition.  I got told I was smart and capable, receiving good performance reviews those first couple of years.  Both my friend and I should now be project managers within our organization, if we are continue on our path to VP.  Neither of us are PMs.  Him, probably because he's Hispanic (which is a post for another day) and me, probably because I'm a chronically ill female (the female part is also a post for another day).  

Here's the part of the story where if you want, you can call me a whiny little shark. Suzie, there are tons of sick people who succeed every day in engineering; you just need to suck it up, you big baby. That's your decision to call me whatever, but it's my decision is to speak about my observations and truth. Plus, I've already told myself plenty of times to suck it up, so it wouldn't be anything new to hear you call me that. I've already beat you to the punch (I was first to do it, na, na, boo, boo, competitive engineer strikes again!).

Alright now that we got that out of our systems, let's move forward with this story.  I got really sick in 2007, see other blog posts for more details, and it took until 2008 to learn that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis.  And also in 2007, I was this close to being fired from my job/company.  Somehow I didn't, and here's probably the one cool thing my company has done for me over the years, they helped me go on to FMLA (to protect my job) and as I slowly recovered, allowed me to be part time.  At that time I was so thankful, and to some degree, I still am thankful today. 

But it was the first set back in my career for being chronically ill. I mean, I almost got fired. That's pretty big set up.  In this competitive industry, if I didn't have someone above me be empathetic about my plight, I would have been let go.  In fact, at any other tech company I would have been let go. Our industry is more competitive than it is empathetic. You ask, how do you know for sure if you were someplace else, you would have been fired?   Because it happened to my friend Emma. Her company basically fired her for being ill. Let me emphasis basically here; yes, there probably are nuances to her case. Overall though, her MS limited when and where she could work, and her company at the time didn't know how to define work within those parameters (I am hopeful that now they do).  There was no let's renew your FMLA or talk about going onto long term disability. They didn't have time to figure it; they had to get on with business.  

I understand their position, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch someone who loved being an engineer so much (and who you care about), shrink and wilt. So much so, that she thought she wouldn't be welcomed anymore in our very supportive female engineering society. She thought because she didn't officially have the title anymore, how could she be in our professional society? How could she attend society meetings without being an engineer?  She was fighting to get long term disability from the insurance her company carried, and her mother won Emma's case postmortem.  It was a bitter victory to say the least.

I've been told more than once from different managers, being a part time sicko employee, "Know that your career is limited," and "you'll have career growth, it will move more slowly."   Those statements are (unfortunately) correct.  Ever year as part of our performance assessments, we have to write down our long term goals.  Since 2008 (the year I started feeling better and went from 24 hours to 30 hours), I have written my long term goal as "project leader."  Managing a team has been a career goal for me for 8+ years.  I am a task lead, but I don't directly manage anyone.  To move up to the next level within my company, that level specifically calls out for supervisor/manager experience.

So the end of 2016 and yesterday (2017,) I explicitly wrote down that I want to be a supervisor and why I'd be a good supervisor. No vague project leader term (because you could possibly be a project leader without any direct reports/supervisees). I explicitly asked to run/manager team. And then I voiced my concern to my manager (in our one on one) about how my career growth feels limited if I don't have the opportunity to manage someone (even just one intern, how hard is it to give me one gosh shark intern?).  First time, it was our company, specifically our project, is not set up to manage a team remotely or part time.  Second time around, it was, well our project just doesn't have any teams to manage currently, but I'm willing to help you find that opportunity with another project, especially one set up around remote work.  

Okay cool, that's a fair answer. However, it showed what I already knew a couple of years ago (I mean after 8+ years of not reaching your long term goal, you start to get the hint that your career is stalled).  If I want my career to grow, I need to work on another project or leave the company.  I doubt I can shake the stigma of being a chronically ill engineer, so my best opportunity for job growth is to leave the company and work someplace else, where they don't know I'm a sicko.  

It's tough to see 2 engineers with 10 years of experience have the opportunity to be supervisors. Another engineer with 8 years become the manager of the test team and got his own office (while you're still in a cube). A different engineer with 4 years  of experience will be put on the project leader team this year. Another engineer with 2 years of experience is accepted onto the Engineering Leadership Program.  I'm not saying their opportunities aren't well deserved, because the opportunities are deserved, those people have worked hard; I'm just saying that I've worked hard too, so where's my opportunity for growth?  It's certainly not here.

The good news is that now that I have accepted that I have no room to grow at my current company, I'm no longer indifferent about the salary I make.  I know engineers make a lot of money compared to other professions, but when you're an engineering making 10K less than another engineer at the same level, it's one more indication of how being sick this industry really hurts your career. Real quick, my company pro-rates my salary, my salary is based on 40 hours/week. So technically if my performance reviews said I did a good job, then my 40 hours/week salary should be within hundreds of the other people who work 40 hours and who are within my level.  I have a feeling my counterparts don't make what I make, and if they did, why are they still here?  Our company (according to Glassdoor.com and Salary.com), are underpaying you!

Anyway, I feel that I can no longer be complaisant about my salary (not like I felt a year ago in The Salary). Sometime in the next 2 weeks I'm going to ask for the average salary of someone at my level. I feel like I owe it to all the sickos and other discriminated people out there.  By staying indifferent about my salary, I'm only hurt those around me.  I know, how unselfish of me.  Yes, I am doing it for myself too. It's important that I do it for me (my self-esteem could use the boost right now; I'm wallowing in my own pity party).  But somebody has to speak up for the disenfranchised, so I might as well speak up for them while I'm standing up for myself. And what do I have to lose? Job opportunities at my current company?  Oh wait, that's already in the toilet, so yeah I have nothing to risk by asking for more.  For the sicko club (it's like the Breakfast Club, but we're all napping in the library instead of dancing and sharing information about latest diet/treatment/medication instead of high school gossip), fist raised victoriously in the air!

So, the morale of the story?  Don't get sick in engineering. Your career depends on you staying healthy.  Take your vitamins. Exercise. Get your flu shots. For those of us who battle diseases and chronic illnesses. I promise to stay in this industry until my fingers are all gnarled and knotted and I can no longer type (but by then maybe the workplace will have cognitive software, think The Matrix, and I can just blink my TPS reports over to my boss, and I could stay even longer in this industry).  I know the longer I stay in this industry, the better I make it for others like me.  That's my promise to you: that through my trials and tribulations, I'll make this industry better for us all sickos. That one day, no one will measure your career by the number of sick days you took.  One day, it will be okay to be sick in engineering.

*1/7/17 Update: I've had 2 engineering friends who have auto immune diseases share with me their career struggles (aka stalling).  I deeply appreciate them sharing their stories with me.  And one even shared some statistics from this post.  I'm developing a secret hand shake for us sickos, so that we can advocate career advancement for each other in our industry. Is wincing in pain after shaking hands too spot on?  Take care!

11/22/16- Gratitude

Gratitude, I've heard that word a lot lately.  I think with Thanksgiving around the corner (2 days!), many people start to reflect and think about what they are thankful for.  I'm no exception; I'm one of those people reflecting on what I'm grateful for.

Before I start my list of gratitude, I have to say 2016 has been one sharky year for me, and it seems for the world as well.  Wars, conflicts, floods, earthquakes, record high temperatures, legends lost, clowns running countries, and probably other sharky things I'm forgetting (personally this year, there's been illness and broken bones and emotional trials, blah).  It's a wonder that anyone is in a thankful mood right now.  But ever the optimist (although old age sure is trying to beat that out of me and make me a COE, cranky old engineer; you know the stereotype), I do realize there are still some wonderful things in my life.

The first thing I'm grateful for is my friends and family. Thank you so much to everyone who reads my blog.  Hearing that you take time out of your day to read my blog means so much to me.   They like me; they really, really like me!  :)   Even if you don't read my blog, I'm so grateful for the care and support my friends and family give me.  Big hugs!

Some of My Wonderful Friends <3

Second, the Cubs winning the world series.  The Cubs winning made my husband (life long fan) so happy, and shark it, if we couldn't all use that kind of happy right now!  Sure, it could be a sign of the 4 horsemen riding, but that was one of the most amazing (sport) wins I've seen.  If we survive the apocalypse, that is one thing we'll still be talking about as we cage fight for food and water Mad Max style.

That One Time at Wrigley

Next on the list, the pug.  It was almost 10 years to this day that Bobby and I went to the cargo hanger at Skyharbor and picked up 2 dogs. They were both shaking in their crates from what I can only image to be the most crazy experience of their dog lives. They had lost their owner, my aunt, a few days before, and then were packed up into dog crates and flown all the way from Atlanta to Phoenix in the belly of an airplane, only to be greeted by 2 strangers and taken to a strange home that already had a dog occupant.

It was one of the best and worst Thanksgivings of my life, so I can only image for Chaps, the Pug, and Gomez, the Shih Tzu, what that Thanksgiving was like for them. Gomez is no longer with us (he passed away a few years ago), but Chaps is.  He is the sweetest dog I've ever had and was Jack's first best friend (okay, Jack's first best friend might have been the ceiling fan).  Chaps, you are getting a whole Turkey in celebration of your adoption birthday! I mean YOLO, right Chaps?

 Pug in 2006

To lighten the mood a little, the next thing I'm grateful for is Bobby and mine's Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition of watching holiday movies.  First movie up will be Trains, Planes and Automobiles. Even though I've seen that movie 20+ times, I still laugh. "Those aren't pillows!" And Christmas Vacation. And Home Alone.  And dozens others.  These movies just make me happy.  And seriously, a good laugh right now is something I think a lot of us can use, so queue up the holiday movies!

Finally, one of the things I'm most grateful for, and it's probably obvious, is Jack and Bobby. Even when they annoy the hammerhead out of me, the next minute their making me smile with a silly face or funny joke.  They also keep me going at work. When I want to quit (almost everyday), I think of how our family needs my income (I know that is so practical, but sometimes the practical reasons are good reasons to keep working).  I also think about how I'm setting an example for Jack. Jack needs me to be the working woman in his life if I want him to truly understand what equal rights in the workplace means (*opinion alert! opinion alert!*).

<3 Three's Company <3

And better than being a part of the motivation to work, Jack and Bobby are part of my inspiration to follow a dream.  After Jack was born, I knew I wanted to create more beautiful things in the world (Jack is the most beautiful thing I've created, but to keep him humble, let's keep that between you and me :)).  I believe with engineering that you can create and make, but the engineering job I'm currently in is all about maintenance (which is important too, but really not challenging me). There is no creating and making with my current engineering job.  So for me to create and make, I decided to write a picture book.

The first picture book was inspired by Jack, observing him being curious about the appliances in our house and how they work.  That manuscript is currently "in the drawer" (as author's call it).  Shortly after that first manuscript, I came up with an idea to write female animal characters performing STEM jobs, in hopes of encouraging children, especially girls, to pursue those careers (assuming the slightest hint of interest, of course).  Bobby helped me form the idea for the first animal character (an aardvark), and he's been a big support in getting the book to print.

That's right, the book is coming to print!  Bobby and I hope to release "Annie a Mathematical Aardvark" in January of 2017!  I'm so excited, happy and grateful to go on this new journey (publishing a picture book) with my guys. Jack and Bobby have been an endless well of support and inspiration, and I'll be celebrating that this Thanksgiving!

Introducing Annie!*

I know 2016 was a rough year for a lot of people, but if you think of something you're grateful and thankful for this year, please leave a comment.  I'd love to hear about the good things that have happened to you.  Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble! :)

*Update- I totally forgot to give credit to the illustrator, Davina, "Viv," Kinney for Annie!  I'm thankful that Viv and I connected and for all the work she's doing on the book!