![]() ![]() The look in their eyes is that of “tell me more” … and what makes me feel best is that I now have my students hooked and intrigued. I also tell them that they will encounter many more scientists who played important roles in our understanding of the atom, and who also persevered through many hardships in the name of science. I explain to my students that few discoveries have had as much impact on the world as the Curies’ work on radioactivity, and that their discovery opened the door to our understanding of the structure of the atom. What they find the most appealing is her intense love of science, and her drive to understand it. While there are many lessons to be learned from the life of Marie Curie, my students find it most impressive that she persevered and never allowed herself to be deterred by physical or personal hardships. When the film ends, we have a class discussion. Devastated by her loss, she continued their work on isolating radium, and after 12 years, she finally succeeded - and proved the element’s existence. Sadly, only three years later, Marie’s life was suffered a terrible tragedy, when her husband was struck and killed by a horse and buggy while crossing the street. The following year, the Curies successfully isolated the element radium the year after that, they were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work on spontaneous radioactivity. In 1901, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of radium and polonium, and for isolating radium. ![]() Yet even though they felt sick and physically exhausted at times, they continued to work on isolating radium from pitchblende. The Curies’ lab work involved health risks that they did not fully understand at the time. It gives viewers the opportunity to see how the Curies endured many years of arduous, back-breaking labor as they shoveled, crushed, and boiled tons of pitchblende ore in order to measure signs of radioactivity that were hidden inside the ore. To introduce my students to the story of Marie Curie, I always start my unit on atomic theory by showing them Madame Curie (1943), a film based on the biography written by Curie’s daughter, Eve Curie.Īlthough the film is not meant to be a science lesson, I think it’s an extremely valuable tool to provide my students a window into Marie and Pierre Curie’s underfunded lab. I continue to be shocked by this … how could my chemistry students not know the story of Madame Curie? How could they not know of her relentless resolve and insatiable curiosity - qualities that made her such an icon in the world of science? How could they not know that, despite a career of physically demanding (and ultimately fatal) work, she discovered two elements, radium and polonium, and truly changed our understanding of radioactivity? And, how could they not know that her revolutionary findings about the atom had widespread applications, from the atomic bomb to the field of medicine? These were all, I think, phenomenal achievements - regardless of her gender. Unfortunately, the responses that I receive are typically blank stares, shrugs of the shoulders, or sometimes comments like, “Oh, she was the scientist lady who wore a black long dress.” That’s why, whenever I begin a chemistry lesson on either atomic theory or nuclear chemistry, I ask my chemistry students why Marie Curie is famous, or what were her contributions to science that made her an icon? Her legacy is as evident today as it was in her time, with many institutions and awards named in her honor. She is, in my opinion, the most famous scientist of all time. Madame Curie is a woman who needs no introduction. Quite often, female scientists of chemistry and physics appear almost like stick figures in science textbooks - famously known for their scientific accomplishments, but not as the real humans they were. Portrait of Marie Curie on Polish currency. ![]()
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