CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Under a spinning model of Earth in the Blue Wing of the Museum of Science, girls of all ages watch as women lead as innovators in their fields for the museum's Women's History Month celebration.
At Tatum Robotics' booth a robotic hand sticks out from the table, translating spoken word into American Sign Language for those who are blind and deaf. While an orchestra plays in the background, Founder & CEO Samantha Johnson showed curious souls how the device worked— as the hand seamlessly mimicked gestures.
The other side of the hall prioritized women's health, Founder & CEO of Survivingbreastcancer.org Laura Carfang stood under pink ribbons to drive home the importance of screenings.
"We are promoting women's health— it's really important to let women know about early detection and doing self-breast exams, and specifically, if you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, we provide the emotional support and well-being to support those who have gone through this traumatic cancer diagnosis," Carfang said.
The band strumming in the background is the Mood Swings Orchestra, a 20-piece group that is made entirely of women/non-binary or those identifying as women. Not only that, many of the members work in STEM as their careers.
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At the back of the hall, facing the spinning globe, sits the booth from the Massachusetts Women's History Center, where Founder Fredie Kay is teaching how women of the Commonwealth helped shape today's society.
"In 1850 was the first national women's rights convention— where? Worcester, Massachusetts. For two years it was in Worcester, thanks to Lucy Stone and Abby Kelley Foster," Kay said.
The MWHC constructed the informational slides used in the museum's Blue Wing, educating guests on the lives of famous women scientists, and the lengths suffragists went through to fight for the right to vote.
"Fast forward— in November, 1915 we had a huge march in the Back Bay. Just to give you a comparison of size, in 2017 for the Women's March, there were 175,000 people. In 1915— 500,000 people [were] in Boston for a parade for women getting the vote. No internet, no cell phones, no nothing— and they all came," Kay said.
Museum Educator Lauren Kashan said putting the event together was a joy.
"There's really nothing like it— especially someone who presents on science. Young girls come up and say 'I want to be a herpetologist,' or 'I want to make lightning,' is totally incredible," Kashan said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett reports.