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PrimaryEnglishScience

Use a Novel to Explore Women’s Contribution to Science – and Broaden Children’s Minds about Future Careers

“When I ask children to name an inventor, 99% of the answers are men”

Ellie Irving
by Ellie Irving
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Confession: I’m a science geek. I’ve long been entertaining my friends with facts about science. Space, the planets, astrophysics – you name it, I can spout a factoid about it. In unrelated news, I’ve not been invited out by friends for a while.

Most of the ideas for my previous books have come from real life stories. What’s going on in the world, how that resonates with me, and how I can channel that into a story for 9-12 year olds is what inspires me.

This is very much the case with my fifth book, The Matilda Effect. What makes this one stand out is that it also allowed me to indulge my love of science.

I first came across the Matilda Effect a few years ago. For the science minded among you, you will know that this is the term used to describe the denial of women’s contributions to science, instead attributing their findings to men. How outrageous.

I then learnt about scientist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell – in particular, how, as a postgraduate student, she discovered the very first radio pulsars and informed her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish.

Hewish went on to use her findings for his own research and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell was not, despite having made the discovery. How outrageous indeed.

I am a firm believer in writing about something that’s close to your heart. I also believe that we can use literature to introduce children to topics that may be deemed grown up or heavy in a way that is accessible and relatable.

The phenomena of the Matilda Effect gave me the perfect platform for a story. I wanted to write about a girl inventor, because it gave me an interesting and inspirational science loving protagonist.

By creating the character of Matilda, I could write about a girl who one day wants to be a famous inventor herself.

So when Matilda doesn’t win the school science fair, even though her invention was the best, she’s devastated – especially as the judges didn’t believe she’d come up with her entry on her own, because she’s a girl.

Matilda shares her woes with her Granny Joss, and is astonished to learn her Granny was once a scientist – an astrophysicist, who discovered her very own planet.

Trouble is, Granny Joss was also overlooked – her boss, Professor Smocks, stole her discovery for himself. And he’s about to be presented with a Nobel Prize. Sound familiar?

Matilda, naturally, won’t stand for this, so she breaks Granny Joss out of her care home, and the pair of them travel across Europe to gatecrash the Nobel prize ceremony in time to stop this injustice.

The response to the book has been brilliant. It’s really struck a chord with readers, particularly young girls. I had a wonderful letter from a 10-year-old who told me that after finishing the book, she ‘packed a rucksack of science books, a magnifying glass and a ruler, and set off to invent’.

That’s exactly the kind of response I wanted. From the feedback I’ve had, there are four key areas that the book explores that would be useful for teachers looking to introduce certain topics into the classroom:

Role models

When I ask children to name an inventor, 99% of the answers are men. This can be a really stifling problem for young girls, as it can put barriers in the way of their potential and ambitions.

According to stats from Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), just one in five people working in Core STEM today in the UK is female. Inspiring minds at an early age is a great way to address this problem.

It’s key they see positive female role models, which is why I have specifically added a glossary of inspiring female inventors at the back of the book.

New routes into science

I have been careful to ensure that The Matilda Effect is a story with universal appeal: pro-girl, but not anti-boy. Regardless of gender, there are positive stories to take from the book, and excite children about the possibilities of science.

To encourage this, Matilda presents a series of fun experiments for children to try at home. Because they’ve been on the journey with Matilda, children are more open to the experiments and keen to try them for themselves.

Some of the schools I’ve visited have used the book as a springboard into studying the Nobel Prizes, creating a display wall on the subject. This helps make the connection between science and the creation of items children use in their day-to-day lives.

Creative problem solving

A key component of the school visits I undertake is running creative writing workshops with pupils. As an icebreaker, I ask children to come up with uses for a kettle other than its usual role of boiling water.

Their creativity is astonishing (and someone almost always says you could use it as a portable toilet). Matilda’s approach to inventing, and the way she and Granny Joss solve problems by using the items they have to hand in creative ways, serves as a useful route to discuss creativity and lateral thinking.

Family relationships

At the start of the story, Matilda hates her weekly visits to Granny’s care home, which involve just sitting around drinking tea. She has written off her Grandma, having not taken the time to understand what she’s done in her life.

It’s Matilda’s discovery of Granny Joss’s scientific past that kicks off their adventure, but I also hope it encourages children to find out more about their grandparents’ stories, and form stronger bonds.

While each book I’ve written is special in its own way, The Matilda Effect is probably my favourite of all, as I really believe in the message, and think it serves a bigger purpose. I hope it can help you find new ways to engage your classes about science and bring out their inventive sides.

Ellie Irving is the author of The Matilda Effect (£6.99, Corgi Childrens).

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