Math, science and engineering. Back in the late 1870s and 1880s that was man territory. Women need not apply. Emily Warren was different. She learned to sew and play the piano but she also learned math and science. She married a man who had grown up in an engineering family. His father came to his son with a plan. He had figured out how to build a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn. He just needed his son to go to Europe to learn a new technique they were using there. Emily insisted on going along to learn the new technique as well.
This is a fascinating account of one woman's intelligence and determination. When Emily and her husband, John, came home, he set to work on building the bridge and came down with caisson sickness. It hit him so hard he couldn't work on the bridge. Emily said she would take on the job.
Emily had to teach herself how the cables would work, how the compression and tension would work, and how to distribute all the weight of that huge bridge that was going to be sitting deep in the water. Step by step we learn along with Emily how the bridge will be built.
Maybe you've driven across a bridge once with your family and wondered how the whole thing stayed up? How does a bridge work? Emily wanted to know and she studied and read and figured it out.
One part technical manual and two parts gumption, this is a wonderfully informative story of the life and amazing work of Emily Roebling, the woman who stood in the shadow of her husband and did a job that was considered for men only.
This is a STEM text that is perfect for Women's History Month in March. It will also serve as an inspiration to many of our girls who love mechanical, mathematical, scientific problems and processes. It will also serve to enlighten those who might want to limit the opportunities of others.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
Math, science and engineering. Back in the late 1870s and 1880s that was man territory. Women need not apply. Emily Warren was different. She learned to sew and play the piano but she also learned math and science. She married a man who had grown up in an engineering family. His father came to his son with a plan. He had figured out how to build a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn. He just needed his son to go to Europe to learn a new technique they were using there. Emily insisted on going along to learn the new technique as well.
This is a fascinating account of one woman's intelligence and determination. When Emily and her husband, John, came home, he set to work on building the bridge and came down with caisson sickness. It hit him so hard he couldn't work on the bridge. Emily said she would take on the job.
Emily had to teach herself how the cables would work, how the compression and tension would work, and how to distribute all the weight of that huge bridge that was going to be sitting deep in the water. Step by step we learn along with Emily how the bridge will be built.
Maybe you've driven across a bridge once with your family and wondered how the whole thing stayed up? How does a bridge work? Emily wanted to know and she studied and read and figured it out.
One part technical manual and two parts gumption, this is a wonderfully informative story of the life and amazing work of Emily Roebling, the woman who stood in the shadow of her husband and did a job that was considered for men only.
This is a STEM text that is perfect for Women's History Month in March. It will also serve as an inspiration to many of our girls who love mechanical, mathematical, scientific problems and processes. It will also serve to enlighten those who might want to limit the opportunities of others.
40 pages 978-1250155320 Ages 5-9
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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On a warm spring day in 1883, a woman rode across the Brooklyn Bridge with a rooster on her lap.
It was the first trip across an engineering marvel that had taken nearly fourteen years to construct. The woman's husband was the chief engineer, and he knew all about the dangerous new technique involved. The woman insisted she learn as well.
When he fell ill mid-construction, her knowledge came in handy. She supervised every aspect of the project while he was bedridden, and she continued to learn about things only men were supposed to know:
math, science, engineering.
Women weren't supposed to be engineers.
But this woman insisted she could do it all, and her hard work helped to create one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
This is the story of Emily Roebling, the secret engineer behind the Brooklyn Bridge.
