Expanding Your Horizons, Flathead Valley

03/21/2024

When the Brooklyn Bridge was completed after fourteen years of construction, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross it by carriage, carrying a live rooster as a sign of victory. Early in its construction, Roebling's husband, the chief engineer in charge of the bridge’s construction, became severely debilitated and bedridden due to decompression sickness. Emily Roebling stepped in to become the first female field engineer in history and supervised the bridge's construction for over ten years until its successful completion. To read the incredible story of the "woman who saved the Brooklyn Bridge" in honor of , visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=25975

For two inspiring picture books telling her story, we highly recommend "Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge" (https://www.amightygirl.com/secret-engineer) and "How Emily Saved the Bridge" (https://www.amightygirl.com/how-emily-saved-the-bridge), both for ages 5 to 9

Roebling is one of the women featured in “Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Engineers, Architects, and Landscape Designers” for teens and adults, ages 13 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-of-steel-and-stone

For adult readers, Emily Warren Roebling's story is also told in David McCullough's "The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge" at https://amzn.to/3sWpy4J

There is also a fantastic historical fiction novel based on her story for adults: "The Engineer's Wife" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-engineer-s-wife

For children's books about more real-life women in engineering and girls who love to invent, visit our new blog post "30 Books About Mighty Girls and Women in Engineering," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=35594

For architectural building kits for kids that include bridge building, we recommend the 'City Engineering and Design Set' for ages 5 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/city-engineering-set), 'Engino Structures: Buildings and Bridges' for ages 8 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/structures-buildings), and 'Structural Engineering: Bridges and Skyscrapers' for ages 8 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/structural-engineering)

07/25/2023

A Helena woman was recently awarded Montana State University's inaugural astronaut scholarship.

05/17/2023

A male colleague once quit rather than work under Ms. Norwood's leadership. When he asked to return, she turned him down.

04/26/2023

May 15, could use a volunteer or two, so ladies send me a message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj91ESkAbbc

06/22/2022

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/trovants.htm

Trovants, found only in a small town in Romania, are stones that actually seem to move and grow. But are they alive?

05/30/2022

05/26/2022

04/01/2022

Happy Retirement, Betty!

Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest active ranger in the National Park Service, retired today after a remarkable career. Soskin, who celebrated her 100th birthday in 2021, spent the last decade and a half sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women from diverse backgrounds who worked on the World War II home front. Her interpretive programs at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park also illuminated the histories of African Americans and other people of color, and her efforts demonstrate how her work has impacted the way the NPS conveys such history to audiences across the United States.

"Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling,” said Soskin. “It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.” On her last day wearing the "flat hat," Soskin provided an interpretive program to the public and visited with friends. We are grateful for Betty’s lifelong dedication to sharing her story and wish her all the best in retirement!

Learn more: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/soskin-retires-2022.htm

Want to watch one of Betty's programs? Check out her story and more at: https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/betty-reid-soskin.htm

Image: Ranger Betty Reid Soskin in front of the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center. NPS Photo/Luther Bailey

03/31/2022

What happens when there’s a dead whale on the beach? In many reported strandings, the next steps look quite similar: where possible, biologists and veterinarians examine the carcass and conduct a necropsy to try and figure out why the mammal may have died. Then, government agencies set about remov...

03/23/2022

“Driving the crawler is a bit like steering a large ship – And when the rocket is on board, it will be like steering a large ship with a skyscraper on top.”

Breanne Rohloff, one of the drivers of the transporter who moved our NASA Artemis Moon rocket: https://go.nasa.gov/3CU8BMP