STEM trailblazer BIOS ENVIRONMENTALIST RACHEL CARSON DOUGLAS HUSTAD Lerner Publications
Chapter 1 83 88 ors Rachel Carson reads to her dog Candy near her home in Pennsylvania AN EYE FOR DETAIL L achel Carson's childhood home was the ideal place for a girl who loved science Her family's farm in rural Pennsylvania was 65 acres 26 hectares of forests and streams As a girl she loved to explore these places a 4
r EXPLORING NATURE Rachel s mother taught her to appreciate nature and to learn all about it When exploring her world Rachel had a unique eye for detail She noticed all of the plants and animals in the woods Rachel particularly liked to watch for birds She loved the thrill of discovery Once Rachel found a fossil of a fish on the cliffs behind the family's farm Right away she wondered where it had come from and what had caused the fossil to form She did not yet have the tools to answer these questions But finding the fossil inspired her to learn RACHEL THE WRITER Two of Rachel s biggest passions were reading and writing She loved the books of Beatrix Potter She also wrote her own stories and illustrated them with her drawings At the age of ten one of her stories was published in a children's magazine Rachel was an excellent student She graduated at the top of her high school class Graduating seniors were required to write an essay Rachel wrote hers about the importance of education and hard work She believed that an education did not stop outside the classroom It continued through reading books and observing the outside world 8 8 5
