Icons of Science: Discussion Guide
Overview
Over the centuries, key discoveries have rocked the scientific world. Famous scientists
and inventors have become icons of science because of the influence and impact of their
work. Explore some of the world’s most famous scientists, including Marie Curie, Albert
Einstein, and Jonas Salk, by studying their lives and their breakthrough accomplishments.
See what studying these icons of science reveals about the nature and history of the field.
Classroom Activities
1. Show the segment “The World of Isaac Newton” from the video All About the
Enlightenment: The Age of Reason.
Pre-Viewing Activity: Introduce the idea of icons of science being
famous scientists throughout the ages, and encourage students to suggest
some names. Before watching the first video, have students create a threecolumn K-W-L chart with the headings What I Know, What I Want to
Know, and What I Learned. Have them fill in the chart about Isaac
Newton.
Discussion: After viewing the video, ask students: What were Newton’s
most famous accomplishments? How did Newton’s laws affect people’s
understanding of the world? How do scientists contribute to their cultures,
and why are they respected for their contributions?
Modeling: Have students create models to represent one of Newton’s
laws:
o Law of gravitation
o First law of motion: inertia
o Second law of motion: force equals mass times acceleration
o Third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction
Role Playing: Have students role-play the contrast between Newton and
the thinking of most people during his time. Discuss what obstacles
scientists face in breaking through with new ideas and having their
discoveries accepted.
Brainstorming: Have groups of students use research materials to
brainstorm a list of famous scientists from ancient, medieval and early
modern times. Then assign student pairs to research these early icons of
science.
2. Show the segment “Marie Curie: Radioactivity and the Discovery of Radium”
from the video Invention: Elements and Compounds. (Access to unitedstreaming
is required.)
Diagram: Review what makes French scientist Marie Curie an icon of
science—most importantly, her discovery (with her husband, Pierre) of
radium. Ask students to make a diagram showing Curie’s discoveries and
the uses of her discoveries. Then, have them extend the diagram to include
the discoveries of the Curies’ daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, and her
husband, Frederic Joliot-Curie.
Biography: Have students read a biographical article about Marie Curie to
provide another perspective on her life and accomplishments.
Timeline: Have students create a timeline of Marie Curie’s life and
accomplishments, including the following dates:
o 1867 – Marie Curie is born.
o 1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie discover radium.
o 1903 – The Curies win the Nobel Prize for Physics.
o 1906 – Pierre Curie is killed.
o 1911 – Marie Curie wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
o 1934 – Marie Curie dies.
Discussion: In addition to discussing Marie Curie’s scientific
breakthroughs, ask students: What did you learn about Marie Curie’s
values? Why did Curie share her research information? Why did she
continue to do research despite injury and contamination from radioactive
materials? What is the value of scientific research?
Research: Assign students to research and report on the contributions of
the following:
o Great female scientists Rosalyn Yalow, Rachel Carson, Dian
Fossey, Virginia Apgar, Rosalind Franklin, Rebecca Cole, Mae
Jemison, and Lise Meitner
o Minority and female Nobel Prize winners in science: Luis Walter
Alvarez, Severo Ochoa, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Maria
Goeppert Mayer, Gerty Radnitz Cori, Rosalyn Yalow, Barbara
McClintock, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Gertrude Elion, Christiane
Nusslein-Volhard, and Linda B. Buck
Reading News: Use magazine and online articles to explore new
breakthroughs in nuclear medicine that have advanced treatment of
diseases.
Glossary: Have students make a glossary defining terms from the videos,
including radium, radioactivity, nuclear medicine, pitchblende, radiation,
electrometer, and atomic energy. Encourage students to add to their
glossaries throughout the unit.
3. Show the “General Relativity” segment on Albert Einstein from the video
Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Astronomy. (Access to unitedstreaming is
required.)
Speaker: Invite a scientist or science teacher to class to explain the
importance of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and his equation E = mc2.
Also, direct students to this Nova Web site, where science experts describe
the theory: www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/experts.html.
Web Sites: Urge students to view the following online Einstein exhibits
and keep a journal of the insights that they provide.
o American Museum of Natural History,
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/
o American Institute of Physics, www.aip.org/history/einstein/
o Nova, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/
Research: Through the above and other sources, ask students to research
the facts of Einstein’s life and list his major accomplishments.
Videos: Show students these additional unitedstreaming video segments
to help them understand more about Einstein and his achievements:
o “Time Dilation: Albert Einstein and the Relativity of Time”
o “Albert Einstein: Theoretical Physicist and Father of the Theory of
Relativity”
Visual Aids: Ask groups of students to create visual aids or models that
help them to understand one of Einstein’s theories.
Discussion: Discuss these issues: How did Einstein change the way
scientists viewed the world? How did he influence science? How would
the world be different without Einstein’s theories? How can you stimulate
creative thinking and imagination to cultivate your own discoveries?
4. Show the segment “Jonas Salk: Physician and Research Scientist” from the video
Discovering History: 20th-Century Biographies: Scientists and Inventors. (Access
to unitedstreaming is required.)
Review: Review the basic facts about polio (poliomyelitis), or infantile
paralysis, a viral paralytic illness primarily affecting children, and how
Jonas Salk developed a vaccine to prevent it.
Interview: Ask students to interview their grandparents or older neighbors
about what they remember about the polio epidemic of the 1950s and the
early testing of the polio vaccine. Have students compare notes in class.
Reading News: Ask students to investigate news of polio outbreaks
around the world today.
Bulletin Board: Create a bulletin board display about other breakthroughs
in medical science and the scientists responsible for them. These may
include aspirin (Felix Hoffman, 1897), penicillin (Alexander Fleming,
1920s), and the oral polio vaccine (Albert Sabin, 1958).
Discussion: Discuss the nature of science as evolving and collaborative.
Ask: What other medical advances have developed from the work of Jonas
Salk? How does the work of scientists today build on the work of
scientists of the past? How do scientists evaluate and contribute to each
other’s work?
Persuasive Writing: Ask students to nominate someone, either a lesserknown scientist or a teacher, as an icon of science, and write a persuasive
letter supporting their nominations.
Timeline: Invite students to create a timeline incorporating the
accomplishments of the four scientists in this discussion guide. Encourage
students to add other scientists and inventors as well, such as Linus
Pauling, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Guglielmo Marconi,
Benjamin Banneker, James Watson, Francis Crick, Daniel Hale Williams,
and others.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K–12
Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
Students develop abilities related to the following national standards: