Press Release: The Amazing Adventures of the Princesses from Planet STEM Book Launch
Note from Nicole: After I wrote my post “Princess or Engineer? Why Not Both?” and awesome Pure Geekery reader let me know about the The Amazing Adventures of the Princesses from Planet STEM Kickstarter. The Kickstarter has been funded and the book is now on the shelf (and it’s by an Indianapolis author even). Check it out.
Girls and STEM careers – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – have not always lived happily ever after together. The statistics show in Indiana and elsewhere, girls are still academically underperforming boys in STEM education. One native Hoosier, woman, and STEM professor decided to take action and help develop a book to encourage young girls to get excited about STEM careers.
Dr. Erin Albert, author, pharmacist, lawyer, and assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Butler University has written a new book for girls and STEM, The Amazing Adventures of the Princesses from Planet STEM (Mascot Books, 2014).
“I read about the underperformance of girls vs. boys on AP testing across the board in the state of Indiana from the Status of Girls in Indiana 2013 report by St. Mary’s College, and found it disturbing,” according to Albert. “Also, as a first generation STEM college grad and native Hoosier myself, I wanted to see if I could give back and help solve this problem while employing my own strengths and talents as a writer to create a win-win.”
Dr. Albert not only wrote the children’s book for girls ages 5-9, but she also ran a successfully funded Kickstarter campaignlast fall to give enough copies away to all approximately 440 Indiana public library facilities. “It’s one thing to write and publish a book, it’s another entirely different thing to get the book into the hands of girls to create positive change,” stated Albert. “I am extremely appreciative of the 120+ backers we had fund this project, and am thrilled to ensure that they along with the girls of Indiana get this book first.”
The book has been illustrated by local artist Pam Fraizer of Fraizer Designs. Hardcopies of the book are available directly from the publisher. Ebooks will be available through various online retailers in the future. Also, a Facebook fanpage for the book has been created, and a Pinterest board focus on STEM for girls as well. The hashtag for the project across social media is #STEMPrincess.
About the author: Erin Albert, RPh, MBA, PharmD, JD is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and director of continuing education and preceptor development at Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Indianapolis, IN. She also is an entrepreneur and founder of two companies (Pharm, LLC and Yuspie, LLC), and has written and published 7 other books on entrepreneurship, pharmacy practice, law, and economic development. She is from Indiana. For more about Dr. Albert, see: www.erinalbert.com. About Pharm, LLC: Pharm, LLC is a coaching, consulting and development organization founded by Dr. Albert to help others enhance their own careers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science industries.
