fresh veggies and surreptitiously places
them in sauces, pastas, mac and cheese, and
other kid-approved cuisines. Little do her
kids know they are wolfing down broccoli,
squash, and brussels sprouts with every bite.
Like moms everywhere, she does it because
she wants what is best for her kids. And
also like moms everywhere, she is changing
her kids for the better without them even
knowing.
Igniting
A
fter my first daughter was
born, I had a clear moment of
imagining all of the possibili-
ties that lie ahead of her. It was like seeing
an endless road stretching far out into blue
sky. I think a lot of new moms have these
moments — when we compare what we
hope for our daughters to what we have and
haven’t done in our own lives. There is a
fierceness that arrives, in our love for our
children and in wanting the best for them.
And, in my case, it sparked a desire to be
the best example I could be for showing my
(now) two daughters that they can create
any life that makes them happy.
This realization led me to writing, and
it also nudged a passion for sharing science
with girls. My work experience has shown
me the importance of STEM education, that
jobs require critical knowledge, skills, and
abilities. I’ve also learned that to be truly
successful, talent has to be paired with em-
powerment.
It’s common knowledge that girls be-
gin to lose interest in science, math, and the
like around middle school, perhaps even
earlier. The question is: why? Like so many
issues, the answer is complicated and un-
clear.
There is some evidence to
suggest that peer pressure may be
a cause. If their friends don’t like
it, then girls may adopt a similar
approach. Low self-esteem may
discourage girls from taking risks
with taking part in and talking about
the subject. And some believe that
subconsciously, teachers and parents
may have lower expectations of girls
in science.
Whatever the root cause, we
know that around puberty, girls
begin to make decisions about
whether or not they will shine in
22 WNY Family December 2018
— by Cara Bartek, Ph.D.
science, and to help improve those odds, we
have to find ways to engage their interest
and encourage them.
One way to look at this is to make
science more exciting. Let’s face it, amidst
all the distractions of modern-day life, it
becomes hard for any one thing to stand out,
much less dusty, crusty, dense science books
or boring, mile-long formulas that mean
nothing on a page. I learned this the hard way
volunteering at my kids’ school. Not being
the mom who excels at party planning or
making adorable Pinterest desserts that only
Michelangelo could make, I volunteered
for science-related things, where I quickly
found myself in a rut.
But this forced me to think creatively.
I realized, in my goal of making science
fun and engaging, that I could couch that
scientific knowledge and learning into
something shiny. Much like a mom who
sneaks vegetables into her kids’ diets, I
found by writing funny stories I could get
the kids to take big bites of science, all while
thinking they were simply having fun.
Think of it like this. When we’re trying
to get kids to eat vegetables, for example,
we can do it by being strict. We also can do
it like my amazing sister-in-law, who purees
Big ticket goals, like increasing female
representation in the STEM fields, are
similar to getting kids to eat healthy. How?
It’s all about the approach.
We can be regimented and strict about
teaching and learning science, or we can
take the extra step to make science attrac-
tive — to make this shiny object stick out
among so many. In my case, I hope to plant
the seeds of science and positivity through
storytelling. I’ve learned I can teach about
quantum physics and the Law of Relativity
by telling fun and sweet stories about a little
girl named Serafina. Just like your daughter
or niece or student, Serafina is discovering
the world around her and trying to make
sense of it. But with the added tool of sci-
ence, Serafina shows girls a positive exam-
ple of living and achieving in science in a
way that is relevant to their day to day lives.
The world is changing in many won-
derful ways. People are more conscious
of the environment, war, hunger, and the
way we treat one another. We have female
superstars blazing a path of female em-
powerment. We also have a culture that is
constantly being moved by our influence.
My hope is that we can positively influence
female representation in the STEM fields by
encouraging young girls, that we can ignite
that intersection of talent and empowerment
— and watch scientific magic unfold.
Cara Bartek, Ph.D. is the author of
“Cosmic Conundrum” and “Quan-
tum Quagmire,” books one and two
of the newly released Serafina Loves
Science! middle grade fiction series,
which is available from most online
retailers and from Absolute Love
Publishing. Bartek lives in Texas
with her husband and two daughters,
and Serafina Loves Science! was in-
spired by her career path and her
two little girls. Her hope is to make
this world a more equitable and op-
portune place for her daughters one
silly story at a time. To learn more,
visit www.carabartek.com.