Marie Curie, a Role Model for Future Scientists of All Ages

The life story of Marie Curie teaches a number of lessons, both directly related to the pioneering chemistry and physics for which she is famous as well as geopolitical and cultural issues in the world at large. As a female, the adolescent Marie Curie could not get an education in Poland, so despite her patriotic feelings, she moved to France in order to study the physics and chemistry that interested her. On top of that, in Russia-controlled Poland, there were strong discriminatory policies that affected daily life. And yet, despite these impediments, Curie pursued her passions and left an enduring legacy of scientific impact, an inspiration to many.

Joan Schaeffer, a former elementary school teacher, is someone who took inspiration from Curie’s story, and through a unique linkage between science and the performing arts, founded a theater company called “Historical Perspectives for Children” to share Curie’s story as well as the stories of other impactful people from history. Begun in 1993, this theater company’s goal is to provide strong character role models for children in grades K-8¹ by performing one-person plays geared to elementary school auditoriums with a format which entertains, educates, and engages young students. Joan in particular wanted to include strong female role models from STEM fields, and so the life story of Marie Curie was a natural choice. And, as the author’s daughter can attest to, a popular choice! The play based on Marie Curie has been performed over 1000 times including 75 times by the author’s daughter.

The inevitable question with a venture such as “Historical Perspectives for Children” is how do you bridge entertaining to educating? How do you hold a room’s attention while still conveying factual information? How can you explain radioactivity to elementary school children? Use the term and many might get excited, but Spiderman villains or the song by ImagineDragons could be the motivation. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU if you’ve missed out on the recent pop-rock music scene.)

Here is how Marie Curie through Joan’s character introduces the concept of radioactivity²:

Curie: Do you know what I mean by rays? Some do, some don't? Let me explain…Now I need you all to listen very carefully.

The sun gives off rays, and the rays of the sun give off light and heat. Now, you can't see the rays coming from the sun, can you? But you know they give off light because it's bright outside, right? And you know they give off heat because you can feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, right? Well — Uranium is something like a little sun which is found inside some rocks. The rays from the uranium can go through the rock and make the air around it electrical. I decided to call rocks which gave of these electrical rays "radioactive" and tested other rocks to see if they were radioactive. Some rocks, like this one called pitchblende, gave off very, very strong rays of electricity even though there was only a little amount of uranium inside. I thought there must be something else, a different element inside this rock which was also giving off these electrical rays. I decided to call this new element "radium." Now I had to find it. I had to break down this rock and see the radium, touch it and feel it to prove that radium really existed.

Moreover, to include further scientific content at an age-appropriate level, the performance includes a number of simple chemistry demonstrations. The performers who play Curie present a narrative telling the story of her life, while at the same time performing chemistry “experiments” behind a desk of beakers and test tubes. The demonstrations are not based on experiments that Curie actually performed during her career, which from a safety standpoint is probably a very good idea. But rather, the experiments provide a setting in which the performer tells the story of Curie’s life while at the same time promoting the exciting mysteries in chemistry and physics.

The youngest students may not be able to grasp the concept of radioactivity, but being introduced to the term plus witnessing a volcano made from baking soda and vinegar, a smoke machine, acetone “dissolving” Styrofoam and dishwashing soap, or even the blowing of large bubbles can motivate a curiosity in math and science. The experiments are designed to be safe and simple enough that interested students could even perform them at home. So, the audience can take away the facts of Curie’s life, struggles, and accomplishments as well as a seed of excitement in science and research and a way to reinforce and nurture that seed at home.

The accompanying photo shows one of the performers, the daughter of the author. In addition to her performances as Marie Curie, she performed another 200 shows as Amelia Earhart. That latter show featured numerous costume changes and did not have a comparable STEM content. The reaction among the student audiences differed. Questions during the Earhart show focused on historical events and the mystery surrounding her disappearance. Whereas, most of the questions during the Curie shows were about the science demonstrations, as well as her experiences in Poland and France. Even if more of the students had heard of Amelia Earhart as opposed to Marie Curie before the respective performances, the enthusiasm of the students in the two cases was similar.

As with any enterprise related to science, we search for metrics - how can we measure the success of educational theatre in providing role models for tomorrow’s scientists and citizens? Applause is one standard in the world of theatre. Requests from school administrators for additional performances each year is another. But the ability to keep six and seven year olds enthralled in their seats for 45 minutes is certainly a compelling and inspiring one, and one metric which continues to motivate ongoing efforts to communicate and share the passion and excitement about science that Marie Curie felt and that modern-day researchers and educators continue to feel.

1. See the website http://www.historicalperspectives.net/ for the current shows available from this company.

2. From “MARIE CURIE, SCIENTIST, MOTHER, HUMANITARIAN,” a play in one act for young audiences by Joan Schaeffer.

These contributions have not been peer-refereed. They represent solely the view(s) of the author(s) and not necessarily the view of APS.