Draw a scientist
First, please use a blank page or a digital format to draw a scientist doing science.
Next, examine the other drawings of scientists made by your peers. Address the following questions as a reply under your drawing.
- What do you notice about the scientists in the drawings?
- What do you wonder?
- What do all (or many) of our pictures have in common?
- What is missing from our drawings?
- Did anything surprise you?
- Did anything stand out to you?
I am not great at drawing so I did not want to post that image. Instead I use Stable Diffusion to bring my ideas to life.
Today in my Science methods and practice class we did this exercise and it really stood out to me. There was a recurring theme in the pictures of scientists engaged in chemistry experiments. Many of my classmates seemed to find chemistry to be particularly fascinating, as evidenced by their selection of images of scientists working on various chemical processes. This emphasis on chemical experiments may reflect a common interest or even a recent shift in our scientific curriculum to emphasize this topic.
I found it intriguing that none of the drawings depicted scientists engaged in writing and researching. It caused me to wonder if this absence was purposefully done to emphasize more the practical and hands-on aspects of scientific work than the intellectual and theoretical ones. It’s possible that our class placed greater emphasis on science’s laboratory and experimental components than on desk-bound tasks like reading and writing.
The various depiction of gender in the paintings was one feature that caught my attention and delighted me. It’s encouraging to see that students from both genders contributed to this inclusive representation of science. It shows a deliberate effort to dispel gender norms and emphasize that anyone — regardless of gender — can pursue a career in science. It was also intriguing to see how several of the male scientists resembled Einstein, showing how his iconic standing in the scientific world was acknowledged.
It would have been interesting to see representations of scientists from other scientific areas as well, even though the drawings were largely focused on chemistry experiments. Science includes a broad range of disciplines, including biology, physics, astronomy, and geology. Our common understanding of scientific endeavors may have been expanded and deepened by exploring and presenting these varied areas.
Overall, the variety of depictions and the inclusion of other genders in the pictures surprised and pleased me. It emphasized the significance of diversity and equality in STEM professions. It also made me think about how we may extend our perspective and take into account the vast array of scientific endeavors outside of chemistry experiments. We might go into additional scientific fields in the future and show scientists writing, studying, and taking in the bigger picture of science.
Thanks for reading! And share your drawings, paintings and photos so that we can learn and discuss with each other.
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