Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science at King’s House
The Junior Department at King’s House has been celebrating International Day of Women
and Girls in Science, bringing pupils together for a series of inspiring STEM activities,
highlighting the invaluable contributions of women in STEM.
It was particularly special as King’s House has just started our journey as a co-ed school, with girls in Reception and Year 1 for the first time. The day was an opportunity to showcase inspiring role models for all our pupils — both boys and girls — and spark a lasting passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Inspiring future scientists
Each class has focused on learning about a remarkable female scientist, creating beautiful posters that celebrated their achievements. These were shared in assembly, where each class confidently presented their findings and told us about their chosen scientist. Linked to their space topic, Year 1 recently read the book ‘Hidden Figures’ about four black women in America who helped NASA launch men into space. One class then learnt about Mae Jemison, the first black woman to go to space; they each made lovely posters, writing lots of facts about her life.
Meanwhile, Year 2 learnt about Marie Curie and her incredible career as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. One child said: 'I think the two most important things she did were fighting for equal rights for women and saving thousands of lives with science!' It was great to see pupils from different year groups coming together, exchanging ideas, and supporting each other’s learning. This sense of community and collaboration is at the core of the school’s ethos and reflects the spirit of inquiry and teamwork that drives scientific discovery. Their stories highlighted the challenges and triumphs of women in science, offering valuable lessons about resilience and determination.
Collaboration across departments
One of the most exciting aspects of the day was the collaboration between departments, with hands-on experiments for each of our classes. In Year 3, pupils were busy completing a few different experiments. They started by making striped elephant toothpaste. They carefully followed the instructions, doubling the quantities after the first experiment to make more the second time round. They then had a go at writing with invisible ink, using water and baking soda and painting over this with turmeric paint, to see their hidden messages. They decided that you needed to mix the baking soda really well to make sure the writing showed through! The children were so excited to take part in these experiments, sparking lots of great conversations about what they might do differently next time to improve.
Women in STEM
Celebrating women in STEM is more important than ever, and the day’s activities promote the vital role female scientists have played in shaping the world and scientific discovery. We learnt about so many different incredible women who conducted ground breaking research, from Mary Anning (a palaeontologist in the nineteenth century) to Jane Goodall (a zoologist working to save chimpanzees from extinction).
By showcasing these role models, we aim to encourage all our pupils, regardless of gender, to see themselves as future scientists, engineers, and innovators; it is so important for our children to see themselves represented in the curriculum.
At King’s House, we are committed to nurturing a love of learning across a holistic and engaging curriculum. Our move to co-education reflects this commitment, creating an inclusive environment where children can learn, grow, and thrive together. International Day of Women and Girls in Science was a wonderful opportunity to reinforce this message and inspire a new generation of curious, confident, and capable scientists.
February 2025