When Patricia Era Bath was born on November 4, 1942, she could have succumbed to the pressures and stresses associated with growing up in Harlem, New York. With the uncertainty present because of World War II and the challenges for members of Black communities in the 1940's, one might little expect that a top flight scientist would emerge from their midst. Patricia Bath, however, saw only excitement and opportunity in her future, sentiments instilled by her parents. Her father, Rupert, was well-educated and an eclectic spirit. He was the first Black motorman for the New York City subway system, served as a merchant seaman, traveling abroad and wrote a newspaper column. Her mother Gladys, was the descendant of African slaves and Cherokee Native Americans. She worked as a housewife and domestic, saving money for her children's education. Rupert was able to tell his daughter stories about his travels around the world, deepening her curiosity about people in other countries and their struggles. Her mother encouraged her to read constantly and broadened Patricia's interest in science by buying her a chemistry set. With the direction and encouragement offered by her parents, Patricia quickly proved worthy of their efforts. Patricia Bath was a physician and a laserphacorprobe for cataracts.

"My name is Frank C. Dukepoo. Among my Hopi people I go by Pu-mat-uh-ye-Aye TsiDukpuh. Through my father the family name TsiDukpuh refers to the snake sacks carried by the Snake Dancers. 'Pumatuhye" was given to me by my mother Ella when I was Initiated into manhood. After you plant the first little ones that come up-that is putmahye."
Frank C. Dukepoowas born in 1944 on the Mojave Indian reservation in First Mesa, Arizona. He was an American Indian who worked tirelessly for Native American education. He was the first Hopi to earn a Ph.D. in zoology (genetic emphasis). When he died he was only one of six Native Americans with a doctorate in science.
His working class parents were Eunice from the Laguna tribe and Anthony Dukepoo, a Hopi farmer. One of his role models was his older brother FreddieDukepoo who worked in a laboratory. Frank said that helping his father in the fields watching things grow gave him an interest in becoming a scientist.

Susie King Taylor was born in 1848. She was in Savannah, Georgia. She was a slave and was not allowed an education. Black women taught her how to read and write. She taught other African Americans when she was 14 years old. In 1862 she moved to Port Royal Island off the coast of South Carolina. There her husband joined the First South Carolina Volunteers, an all-black army. The army was made up of former slaves from the Sea Islands and was one of the first African-American military units. They needed medical help. Susie was working in her husband's military company, even though she had no training. She was the first black army nurse. She worked on the battlefield for four years. Other women joined the army as nurses. Other people went for the job like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Her husband died at the end of the Civil War. She moved north to Boston, Massachusetts. There she met and married Russell Taylor. She died in 1912.

Marie Curie
(1867 - 1934)

Original name, MarjaSklodowska.Born in Warsaw, Poland. She studied mathematics, physics and chemistry in Paris, where she met and married Pierre Curie (1859 - 1906). In 1903, she and Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for research on the radioactivity of uranium.

She discovered the radioactivity of thorium; discovered polonium and radium, and isolated radium from pitchblende. She and her husband, Pierre, were awarded the Nobel prize in physics (1903), but she won the prize on her own in chemistry (1911). In 1910 she had published a long paper on radioactivity and this time it was all her own work. She was given a second Nobel Prize, and became the first person to receive this award twice.

Unfortunately, the repeated contact with radioactive elements took their toll on Madame Curie. She died from leukemia, a type of cancer, "in July 1934, exhausted and almost blinded, her fingers burnt and stigmatised by 'her' dear radium.

Gutscher: 2010
Lesson: Draw a scientist
Purpose of Activity:
This activity encourages dialogue about who scientists are and what they do. The goal is for the students to view themselves as scientist.
Lesson Sequence:
Introduce the Activity:
  • Introduce the activity by asking students to picture a scientist at work. Ask them to picture details about what the scientist is doing, what the scientist looks like, what the scientist is wearing, and the tool being used.
Start a dialogue:
  • Ask students to share some of the details of the scientist they envisioned.
  • Start a discussion by asking the students questions:
-How many of you pictured a male scientist?
-How many were wearing lab coats?
-Where they holding bubbling test tubes?
-Did the scientist have glasses on?
-Do any of the scientists have crazy hair?
-Did you picture a certain ethnicity?
  • As a class, come up with a list of words that could be used to describe this stereotypical scientist. Write down their ideas on the front board.
-Ask the students if they think this stereotype is accurate.
-Where do they think this stereotype comes from?
Create a new view of a scientist:
  • After the students have this initial image in their head, tell the students that you (the teacher) are also a scientist. Ask the students if your image matches the words that are on the board.
  • Give them a new definition of a scientist. A scientist is anyone who observes the world around them, asks questions, and then seeks understanding. Ask them if they have ever wondered why the sky was blue? Tell them at that moment they were a scientist. Have they ever wondered what causes a tornado to form? At that moment, they were a scientist. Scientist asks questions.
  • Inform the students that in this class they will all be considered scientist. Explain to them that we will be inquiring about different topics, asking questions, and will be using the scientific method to find answers to our questions.
Draw a scientist:
  • At the conclusion of your discussion, give the students an assignment to draw a scientist.
  • When the students bring in their drawings, have them share their work with the class.
  • Do the students’ drawings match the stereotypical scientist? Or has their scientists started to take on some of their own characteristics, such as gender, age, and ethnicity?