Erin Twamley is an award-winning children’s book author, educator and lifetime Girl Scout. Erin’s current children’s book series, Everyday Superheroes, provides female role models in different STEM, energy, and engineering careers. Erin’s background in psychology, education, and energy provide the foundation from which Erin creates this book series featuring real women in real careers in a format designed for children and educators.
Erin has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Education. Erin spent four years working as an education specialist at the Department of Energy and recently was named a Clean Energy Champion for her storytelling and literacy efforts.
Episode Notes
Erin talks about her newly released book “Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy Careers“, a multicultural children’s book featuring real women working in energy careers around the world. She shares how she got into writing children’s books about women in STEM from her background in psychology and education. We talk about the importance of women and girls in STEM in media.
Erin has a deep passion and knowledge of the energy industry and for story telling. Her books are geared towards educators and parents in addition to children. The illustrations are remarkable. She writes in bite size chunks to make it easy to read a new story and person & career daily. I’m excited to share these books with my nieces and nephews for Christmas this year!
Erin also shares her experiences traveling to and living overseas since leaving her hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota – which happens to be where I live now. I even got to meet Erin (and her STEM mom) this summer.
Music used in the podcast: Higher Up, Silverman Sound Studio
Acronyms, Definitions, and Fact Check
Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers This children’s book features women STEM superheroes from a variety of careers from A to Z. It introduces six STEM super powers. (https://bookshop.org/books/everyday-superheroes-women-in-stem-careers/9781634891981)
Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy Careers This book features thirty-four real-life energy superheroes who install solar panels, dig wells miles into the ground, connect power lines, and drive us into the future with battery-powered cars. (https://bookshop.org/p/books/everyday-superheroes-women-in-energy-careers-erin-twamley/18361212?ean=9781634894340)
Capturing Cow Farts and Burps – Using silly science, Erin engages young children in science and energy. (https://www.amazon.com/Capturing-Farts-Burps-Erin-Twamley/dp/1647648572)
Climate Change: The Science Behind Melting Glaciers and Warming Oceans with Hands-On Science Activities (Nomad Press, 2020)
Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the Future (Nomad Press, 2016)
Climate Change: The First Book: Discover How it Impacts Spaceship Earth (Nomad Press, 2015)
Claude M. Steele is an American social psychologist and a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. He is best known for his work on stereotype threat and its application to minority student academic performance. His earlier work dealt with research on the self (e.g., self-image, self- affirmation) as well as the role of self-regulation in addictive behaviors. In 2010, he released his book, Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us, summarizing years of research on stereotype threat and the underperformance of minority students in higher education. (https://claudesteele.com/)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides important information about student achievement and learning experiences in various subjects. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP has provided meaningful results to improve education policy and practice since 1969. Results are available for the nation, states, and 27 urban districts. NAEP is a congressionally mandated program that is overseen and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. The National Assessment Governing Board, an independent body appointed by the Secretary of Education, sets NAEP policy. (https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. NCES fulfills a Congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally. (https://nces.ed.gov/)
Ada Twist Scientist – Ada Twist’s head is full of questions. Like her classmates Iggy and Rosie—stars of their own New York Timesbestselling picture books Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer—Ada has always been endlessly curious. Even when her fact-finding missions and elaborate scientific experiments don’t go as planned, Ada learns the value of thinking her way through problems and continuing to stay curious. (http://www.andreabeaty.com/ada-twist-scientist.html)
Molly of Denali is an animated children’s television series created by Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh and produced by Atomic Cartoons and WGBH Kids for PBS Kids and CBC Kids. It premiered on July 15, 2019. (https://pbskids.org/molly/)
Ordinarily Extraordinary 