SWE PNW Spring Book Club Selections FY17

Book selection for a Book Club can be tricky business, but I've put a lot of thought into curating our reading list for the next few months.  Here is some of the reasoning behind it. 

On March 19 we'll be discussing Margot Lee Shetterly's book (now a movie) Hidden Figures.  This one is not just of-the moment because the movie's out, it's also got us reading about segregation and the experiences of barrier-breaking African American women in Virginia during Black History month.  We'll be discussing it in March, which is Women's History Month.  We're sort of getting triple-value on this one.  

On April 30 we'll be discussing Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik.  Most of us will be reading it in March (Women's History), and it feels like a good time to learn more about a woman who's out there fighting for equality and justice, protecting them in the highest court.  

On May 21 we'll discuss Mary Roach's Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Mary is a noted scientific journalist, and she'll be telling us all about the experiments humans have done on the earth to simulate problems they expect to have in space, and solutions to make space life more tenable. This ties in pretty directly with our June Selection.  

On June 25 we'll be reading a futurist science fiction book, Expanse 1 - Leviathan Wakes by James Corey.  A mystery adventure book that takes place in a solar system that has been colonized by humanity.  Will the things we learned from Packing For Mars show up in Corey's fiction?  This is a good warm-up to summer fun reading. 

Look for the Summer Book Club selections in an upcoming blog post / newsletter. 

As ever, everyone is welcome to SWE PNW Book Club meetings.  Haven't finished the book?  No problem.  Haven't read the book?  No problem.  Come join a bunch of literate ladies to talk books over beers at Growler USA in Redmond.  We meet one Sunday a month from about 3-5.  It's a great networking opportunity, and a lot of fun.  

The dates above link to the Eventbrite invitations, which include Amazon and King County Library Service links for each book.  Most books are available in paper, audio, and ebook versions.  All of the SWE PNW Book Club Events are find-able at Eventbrite, RSVP is free: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/swe-pnw-book-club-11856813751

Looking forward to meeting you!  

Jessica Makäe - Book Club Chair. 

swe.pnw.book.club@gmail.com

Summer 2014 Events & Activities Recap

Here's a recap of some of what we did over the summer of 2014:

Seawall Tour

SWE-PNW had a great turnout for our most recent tour – this time getting an in-depth look at the City of Seattle’s Elliot Bay Seawall Project. Jessica Murphy returned as our tour guide, sharing the vast complexities of such a unique project. 

Jessica spoke previously at a Tech Talk, returning for a tour by membership request. The tour group gathered at Pier 62 and walked south to the Seattle Ferry Terminal, stopping at locations where construction is in work. Currently, construction can be seen periodically along the route, with open sections roped off and viewable to the public.

Summer Socials

We had a great time at our June and July Socials at Lazy Boy Brewing and La Palmera, respectively. 

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, August 2014)

August 2014 Event & Activity Recap

Check out some of our August 2014 Event Summaries below:


Planetarium Event
On Saturday, August 23rd, approximately 20 SWE-PNW members and their family and friends enjoyed an evening of stargazing at the University of Washington’s planetarium housed in the Physics-Astronomy auditorium. This informal show was led by Kristine Washburn, faculty advisor for the Everett Community College’s SWE-Collegiate Interest Group.

She guided participants through the night time sky as viewed from Seattle, farther north from Alaska, and even from below the equator, identifying the north star and surrounding constellations along the way. We looked at star clusters, nebulae, planets, and galaxies that have been mapped over a significant period of time with the cooperation of universities as well as government and private industries. It was a highly engaging and interactive session.


2014 ISEC Family Science Fest
Our outreach volunteers headed to the Museum of Flight for the 2014 International Space Elevator Consortium's (ISEC) Family Science Fest on Saturday August 23rd.

We had a booth at the event along with many other STEM outreach groups and our activity was paper helicopters. The kids had a blast finding out the differences between the big helicopter and the small helicopter and seeing what happens when you switch the orientation of the rotors. We even had some helicopter races by dropping two of them from the second story of the museum and seeing which one hit the ground first! Thanks to all of our volunteers!

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, October 2014)