Nanogirl in Christchurch: Quick questions

Nanogirl is coming to Christchurch with a bang! She is putting on two shows on 5th December at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Expect explosions and excitement at Little Bang, Big Bang - the Live Science Show. One hour of science where Nanogirl blows things up, blows things over and blows your mind!

Covering Bernoulli’s principle, firing a massive air vortex cannon, holding fire in her hands and exploding thousands of ping pong balls, this show has science like you’ve never seen it before! Safe for all ages, this family friendly show shows you simple experiments you can do at home.

We asked Nanogirl - aka scientist Michelle Dickinson - a few questions ahead of her upcoming visit

What resources would you recommend for kids interested in science?

Actually my favourite place to go is online to places like the Science Learning Hub as they have great New Zealand content for all ages and for teachers that includes local content.

CoverI also love Rosie Revere, engineer as an engineer myself, it's so great to read a book with such a strong female engineer lead character to get girls and boys interested in and familiar with the word 'engineering'.

What did you read as a child that you enjoyed? What books inspired you?

I read a lot of science fiction books which I loved as they helped me to think about what a future world could look like which helped me to think big about working on solutions that could help our future by helping to create technologies and materials that don't exist yet.

What do you enjoy reading these days?

Now I'm a total non-fiction biography addict as I follow influential leaders that I admire as I try to piece together how others have overcome challenges in their lives to create the successes they were aiming for.

What role do libraries play in your life?

Libraries used to be the place that I went to borrow books when I was younger but now they are spaces of technology for me as I help libraries who have 3D printers and robotics centres in them and instead of the hardback books I used to borrow, I'm now an avid audiobook borrower from my local library.

Fun Palaces at Central Library Peterborough - 3d Printing
Fun Palaces at Central Library Peterborough - 3d Printing. Flickr CCLFunPalaces-2015-10-3-Fun Places - 41 - Fun Times - 41 - 1912

What advice can you give young people wanting to pursue a career in science?

The best scientists and engineers are always asking questions and always testing their theories through creating experiments and researching their ideas, so my advice is to never stop being curious.

More Nanogirl

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Science and technology at the library

See also our post: Inspiring girls to work in STEM – Ada Lovelace Day 2016

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