Tomorrow We March for Science!

Tomorrow (April 22, 2017) we March for Science.  I am marching in support of science funding, science education for all ages, and community outreach. I believe that science is our future and that we need to invest in that future.  

My outfit for the March for Science is complete! I will wear a necklace with my initials in amino acids, a chemistry lab skirt (the first adult garment I sewed!) and a cotton GENEie Pussyhat. I have never designed and knit a hat that represents me as much as the GENEie Pussyhat. I am a woman. I am a scientist. I am a wife and mother. I am a stay-at-home-mom. I knit. I dye my own yarn. I design. I am ChemKnits. I will stand up and resist. 

 

There might not be time for you to replicate my homemade outfit by tomorrow, however the March for Science isn't the only time you could dress in support of science.  If you like my hat, check out the GENEie Collection of hat and headband knitting patterns.  Project Thinking Cap has received donations of over 300 hats in various designs and will distribute them at the DC march.  I will write a post about the skirt at some point (it has pockets!), but here is the pattern for a really easy simple elastic waist skirt.   I purchased the awesome chemistry lab fabric at JoAnn's.  I received the amino acid initial necklace as a gift at my PhD defense just over 6 years ago.  

The weather is going to be cool tomorrow, so I might switch to my wool ombre GENEie Pussyhat, long sleeves and leggings under the skirt.  

I still need to make my sign for the march (and I might need to make some quick T-shirts for my kids if the ones we ordered don't arrive in time), but 3 year old Lucky made his earlier this week.  One of his favorite TV shows is Dinosaur Train on PBS. This show promotes observation, exploration and curiosity. A tag line of a main character is, "I have a hypothesis!" and at 2 years old Lucky could tell you that "a hypothesis is an idea you can test!" I hope that as Lucky grows, he has many more opportunities to observe, explore, learn and teach. This is one reason why we march.

On his sign Lucky drew a purple sun, snakes, practiced his "L"s and coloring in. He loved the scientist dinosaur sticker collection. (Lucky now wants to make more signs!) He also wanted to make sure you knew "I like peeps!"  Lucky is super excited to cheer "March for Science!" at the Rally.  (After the Boston Marathon he is now really into cheering.)

Knitting cool science hats is a step, Marching is a step, but they are not the end.  Showing up to the march is important because it amplifies our voice, but it is also important to use your voice after the march.  Call your representatives and tell them where you stand on issues.  Show up at town hall meetings.  How can we expect the government to represent us if we don't tell them what matters to us?

I might go live at some point tomorrow.  I've never "gone live" before so we'll see how it goes.  If you see me at the Boston march, come over and say hi!

Science Matters!  Let's invest in our future!