Comics aren’t just for the superheroes that popularized them. As a dynamic medium, comics tell stories in sci-fi, fantasy, romance, horror, humor, history, autobiography, and even science education!

It may seem like an odd pairing, but comics can bring a humanity to science that SciAll resonates with. Just like photography and film highlight objectivity by capturing a shared moment we can all experience, the stylistic diversity of comics highlights the subjectivity of their author and illustrator’s unique perspective. Comics allow readers to see the world as the creators see it and feel the world as the creators feel it. Comics are also inclusive in their intuitiveness, representing both sights and sounds. These two channels of communication can even transcend language barriers–even if you don’t understand a comic’s words, the story can often be deciphered through its illustrations. 

The accessibility of comics combined with their ability to express diverse experiences make comics the perfect medium for future scientists to portray their stories larger than life. Every scientist has an origin, and in the STEM Superheroes program, we hope to help campers forge their own path with the power of storytelling.

One of the greatest hurdles in overcoming science misinformation is the prevailing belief that academia is an ivory tower. However, SciAll is founded on the belief that partaking in the scientific process is for everyone–it’s in the name! For these students to see themselves as future STEM Superheroes, they not only need imagination, but the opportunity to partake in science experiments. Not only were kids given access to equipment such as a state-of-the-art infrared camera and CU’s Fiske Planetarium, but they also participated in science demonstrations with household materials. From observing microbiology through yeast and sugar to using echolocation in a game of tag, these students learned that wherever they go, they bring science with them.

It’s one thing to read about faraway science heroes such as Einstein or Darwin, but in their mythological status, it’s easy to forget that these heroes were human, too. That’s why, after reading their larger than life origin stories and watching their SciAll narratives, students were treated to surprise visits from our If/Then ambassadors. Rather than holding themselves to the impossible image of a successful, ideal scientists, these students now know real-life women who have made a career doing this daunting work. In showing kids–particularly young girls–that women who look like them, talk like them, and live like them can be scientists, we hope to change what science means to these students–not a high council, but a dream any of them can achieve.

Once they had seen themselves in scientists and taken their first steps in the scientific process, campers were given a toolkit for imagining their possible future in STEM–comic style.

Throughout the curriculum, campers reflected on the role of creativity in science and in storytelling. By mapping the plot of our SciWomen Origin Stories and many of their own favorite movies, books, and comics, students deduced that stories can take on any shape–much like in real life, their path may not look conventional, and that’s okay. In their comics, campers had the power to linger on key moments, jump forward in time, and express their emotions in their own, unique style.

Next, campers were taught the mechanics of comic creation by a professional they were already acquainted with: physicist and cartoonist Dr. Juanele Tamal, the creator behind our SciWomen Origin Stories. With this lesson from a professional in their pocket, students took to online comic creation platform Pixton to create their own origin stories in professional clarity. These comics (left, below) chronicle the multilingual, multiversal diversity of students’ imaginations, from journeys to space, to biographical career tribulations, to simply navigating the social structure of camp. 

Our team may have had a blast facilitating the STEM Superheroes camp with Science Discovery, but we wouldn’t be scientists if we didn’t assess our success with students. That’s why we are collaborating with Physics Education Researcher Dr. Jessica Hoehn in order to understand how art influenced students’ STEM identities, and how making art helps them express these identities. Dr. Hoehn’s ongoing research qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes  evaluative student surveys and scans of campers’ final comics. With this data, we hope to help these underserved communities–in particular, girls–continue to see themselves as scientists in the field, in the lab, and on the cutting edge of human knowledge.