This year’s SkepchickCON at CONvergence was, of course, awesome as usual. We had a blast seeing everyone who joined us at our panels, danced in our party room, and did fantastic art and science projects in Connie’s Quantum Sandbox. We painted with waxworms, made a jillion different papercrafts, extracted strawberry DNA, and tasted bugs in the Sandbox. In the party room, we built hovercrafts, played with electromagnets, extracted pigment from roses and checked the spectra of spinach chlorophyll. We also played Pin the Organs on the Skeleton and Periodic Table Bingo. Good times!
Wait, you couldn’t all be there with us? We wish you could have been! So we’d like to share some of the projects with you.
First off, for anyone who missed the Science Paper Art Hour or simply wanted to collect the full set of paper dolls, below are links to all of the ones we brought to Saturday’s Sandbox. (Please contact us to make requests for new paper dolls you’d like to see!)
by Steve
The one that got this project started almost three years ago!
Way back when, Steve said, “A couple days ago, I ran across these Arrested Development paper dolls and thought, “I wonder if anyone’s done scientist paper dolls”. I couldn’t find any, so I suggested that maybe we at Mad Art Lab could try and make some.” And so here we are!
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger, was an Austrian physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in the field of quantum theory, which formed the basis of wave mechanics: he formulated the wave equation (stationary and time-dependent Schrödinger equation) and revealed the identity of his development of the formalism and matrix mechanics. Schrödinger proposed an original interpretation of the physical meaning of the wave function and in subsequent years repeatedly criticized the conventional Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics (using e.g. the paradox of Schrödinger’s cat). (from Wikipedia)
by Brian
Marie Curie, née Maria Salomea Skłodowska, was a Polish-French physicist and chemist, born in Poland but working mainly in France, who is famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win in two fields, and the only person to win in multiple sciences. She was also the first female professor at the University of Paris (La Sorbonne), and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in Paris’ Panthéon.
Her achievements included a theory of radioactivity (a term that the Curies coined), techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium. Under her direction, the world’s first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms, using radioactive isotopes. She founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and in Warsaw, which remain major centres of medical research today. During World War I, she established the first military field radiological centres. (from Wikipedia)
by Brian
“Okay here’s the thing – I could write endlessly about Salvador Dalí; his life, his art, his genius, madness and goofiness, how he and the other Surrealists were heavily influenced by early psychology, how he incorporated atomic theory into his art, how he has influenced me since I was 15-years-old and so on, for pages and pages and pages. Instead, I will direct you lovely folks to his Wikipedia page because he was a fascinating person and you should learn about him and enjoy his wonderful artwork. In honor of his 108th birthday, I have made a Dalí paper doll that I hope captures a little of his essence. There is a burning giraffe involved. Also the famous lobster phone.”
by Maggie
“You’ve no doubt seen the awesome paper doll scientists posted so far. Steve’s brilliant idea finally got me off my ass. So here’s my science doll, everyone’s favorite crazy-haired German physicist Albert Einstein.”
by Amy
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world. In a 1999 poll of 130 leading physicists worldwide by the British journal Physics World he was ranked as one of the ten greatest physicists of all time.
He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the Rogers Commission, the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing and introducing the concept of nanotechnology.[6] He held the Richard Chace Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. (from Wikipedia)
by Cloe
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE (born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934) is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. (from Wikipedia)
by Maggie
“Another of my heroines in the field of computing: Grace Hopper. I can almost guarantee she will be the only one of our paper dolls who has a naval destroyer named after them.
Everyday on my way to work I pass a piece of the Harvard Mark I computer and most times I feel like saluting Grace Hopper. She was instrumental in the development of COBOL (and standards for languages), taught at Vassar and worked on the UNIVAC I. Did I mention she has a Navy destroyer named after her??? So for your crafting fun, I give you Amazing Grace Murray Hopper.”
by Maggie
“Ada Lovelace (Augusta Ada King née Byron, as in daughter of Lord Byron… that Lord Byron) was a writer who assisted Charles Babbage with his analytical engine. And while she’s commonly referred to as simply ‘a writer’, she’s so much more than that and, IMHO, deserved to rightly be described as a mathematician and quite possibly the world’s first computer programmer. But no matter what you call her, she was an amazing individual and her contributions to math and computing are very real and tangible. And she’s one of my heroes.” (complete with steampunk add-ons!)
by Cloe
William Sanford “Bill” Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, writer, and scientist who began his career as a mechanical engineer at Boeing. He is best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children’s science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–98) and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator. (from Wikipedia)
by Steve
“One of the things we did with these was print off stacks of them to give out, with crayons, at Dragon*Con. The evening before I left for Atlanta, it occurred to me that we didn’t have a one for Phil Plait, who would actually be at the convention.
So, instead of packing my bags and getting a good night’s sleep like a normal, sane person might do the evening before a seven-hour road trip, I sat down and started scribbling.
And here’s the result: The Phil Plait paper doll, officially endorsed by Phil himself.
…Well, he said he liked it.
…Well, he didn’t say he didn’t like it.
…Well, we haven’t actually received a cease and desist letter …yet.”
by Cloe
“Now you can have your very own Carl Sagan paper doll, complete with two classic Sagan ensembles as well as an apple pie (made from scratch), the planet Venus and a copy of Contact. Color him in, cut him out and hang him around your home or office.”
by Steve
“This one’s Nikola Tesla who, according to Wikipedia, was responsible for alternating current, wireless communication, a high-performance electric sports car and the 1991 album“Psychotic Supper”. Wait. No. Just the first two.”
by Ryan
Alan Mathison Turing was a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, giving a formalisation of the concepts of “algorithm” and “computation” with the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general purpose computer. Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence.
“Why is he a robot? I propose that he introduced the now famous Turing Test ironically and that he was actually an android from the future.”
by Cloe
“‘Weird and creepy.‘ That’s what Neil deGrasse Tyson has to say about my paper doll on The Verge.”
by Ryan
Dr. Brian Cox isn’t a groundbreaker like Newton or Einstein. He is instead a brilliant popularizer of science like Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson. He is also one of the few literal rock-star scientists. Before working at Cern and presenting the Christmas Lecture at the Royal Institution, he was a keyboard player for the British bands Dare and D:Ream.
by Cloe
Chris Hadfield is a retired Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space. An engineer and former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station. (from Wikipedia) He also plays space guitar.
Who are we missing? Who would you love to see as a paper doll? Let us know in the comments; we may already be working on your favorite scientist. Print, color, cut, and enjoy!
