STEM sisters sing out for women in science
25 Jan 2021
A new online show has harnessed art in the cause of women in science, in an effort to interest primary school children in careers in the sector.
STEM Sisters celebrates the achievements of women pioneers including Marie Curie, Ada Lovelace and Hedy Lamarr.
The brainchild of award-winning production company HMDT Music, it was conceived in answer to the lack of young women opting to work in science-based jobs.
Creative director Tertia Sefton-Green commented: “STEM Sisters enables us to extend our national reach to young people… embedding the arts to inspire in this case, a thirst for science and maths.”
The show, which has a running time of less than one hour, is aimed at children aged from eight to 12 and will stream online, on demand, from 15 March to 11 April.
A recent survey featured in Process Engineering suggested that many parents dismissed the idea that their children would consider or be able to enter careers such as engineering. Industry associations have frequently warned that attract a higher proportion of females would be essential in order to fill the likely gap in recruitment over the next decade.
Like many theatre companies that have been unabled to present live shows owing to pandemic restrictions, HMDT has opted to offer its educational work as an on-demand service, alongside workshops and teaching resources.
“We’re delighted we’re able to make our new production available as a film for families and for schools and hope that we will be able to achieve our original plans of a live theatre tour in the autumn, when venues reopen,” added Green.
Founded in 1995 as Hackney Music Development Trust, in order to support the London borough’s Centre for Young Musicians, HMDT has played a significant role in community arts, collaborating with the likes of the English National Opera.
It is a two-times winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Education – in 2004 and 2008
