Reading - Group 3

Aim

To create an artwork that explores warm and cool colour

Materials

� Lightweight white artboard (at least A3 size)

� A lead pencil

� A large bowl (or similar round object) to trace around

� Oil pastels or crayons

� Watercolour paints

� A paintbrush

� Colourful wool

Marie Curie

Marie Curie won a Nobel Prize for her work on radioactivity and discovered the elements polonium (Po) and radium (Ra). Marie Sklodowska was born in Warsaw,

Poland, on 7 November 1867. She was a talented student, but women were not allowed to go to university in Poland at the time. She saved up her money and moved to France. She completed degrees in physics and mathematics at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Marie married French scientist, Pierre Curie, in 1895. Together, Marie and Pierre found the radioactive elements polonium and radium in 1898. These discoveries led to the development and use of X-rays in medicine.

In 1903, Marie Curie became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize. She won it first for physics. In 1911, she became the first person to ever win it twice, this time for chemistry.

Marie Curie died in July 1934. It is believed she died from radiation exposure.

Aryabhata

Aryabhata is considered the first person to correctly explain the movements of the Earth, sun and moon.

Aryabhata was born in India in 476 CE. He studied mathematics and science. Aryabhata worked out that Earth spins on an axis. This explained why the sun and stars appear to move. Aryabhata also figured out that the light from the moon and planets was reflected from the sun. He used this knowledge to become the first person to explain eclipses.

These facts are widely accepted today, but Aryabhata made his discoveries 1000 years before European scientists. Unfortunately, some of his writings on mathematics and astronomy have been lost over time.

Aryabhata is thought to have died in 550 CE.

Robert Lanza

Robert Lanza successfully cloned animals, pioneered stem cell therapy and offered an explanation of how the universe works.

Robert Lanza was born on 11 February 1956, in Boston, USA. When he was 13, he changed the genetics of a chicken to alter its colour. He did this in his basement as part of a science fair!

Robert went on to study medicine and became a doctor. He became interested in how cloning and stem cells might help cure diseases. Robert cloned an endangered animal and found ways to make stem cells from adult tissue.

In 2007, he and Bob Berman proposed a theory called ‘biocentrism’, which states that human consciousness created the universe rather than the other way around.

Robert is currently the Head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine.

Mae Jemison

Mae Jemison is an engineer, a medical doctor and an astronaut who became the first African American woman in space.

Mae Carol Jemison was born in Decatur, USA, on 17 October 1956. She studied chemical engineering after high school and became a medical doctor in 1982. Mae worked for the Peace Corps, helping less fortunate people in Africa.

In 1987, Mae was accepted into the NASA astronaut program. She flew into space in September 1992 and conducted various scientific studies throughout the mission.

Mae left NASA in 1993. She went on to become a professor and started several companies and charities. She has also written a children’s book, called “Find Where the Wind Goes”, about her life.