UniversidaddeCádiz

The exhibition, part of the Science and Knowledge Outreach Plan and co-funded by FECYT–Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, explores the lives and contributions of eight leading figures to promote STEM vocations

The University of Cádiz has inaugurated in the lobby of the Faculty of Education Sciences the exhibition Ready, Set, Go!: STEM and Women in Science, an outreach and educational initiative that invites reflection on the role of women in the history of science and on the importance of female role models in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

The exhibition is part of the University of Cádiz’s 2025–2026 Science and Knowledge Outreach Plan, coordinated by the Unit for Scientific Culture and Innovation (UCC+i), and is co-funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

Through a series of display panels, the exhibition explores the careers and achievements of eight women who paved the way in different historical periods and disciplines: Hypatia of Alexandria, mathematician and astronomer; Ada Lovelace, regarded as the first computer programmer; Marie Skłodowska Curie, a pioneer of modern radioactivity and a two-time Nobel Prize winner; Ellen Swallow Richards, a key figure in the origins of environmental engineering; Mae C. Jemison, the first African American woman to travel into space; Mary W. Jackson, mathematician and engineer at NASA; Gladys West, whose mathematical work was essential to the development of GPS; and Margarita Salas, an internationally renowned figure in molecular biology.

In this way, the initiative offers an accessible and engaging journey aimed at the general public and especially students, with the goal of highlighting scientific contributions that have historically received less recognition, encouraging critical reflection on the factors that have limited women’s participation in science, and promoting STEM vocations, particularly among girls and young people.

After its display at the Faculty of Education Sciences, the exhibition will travel to primary schools as a touring exhibition. The scientific coordination has been led by Professor Begoña Sánchez, from the area of Didactics and affiliated with the Institute for Social Sustainable Development (INDESS), while the design and installation have been carried out by the UCC+i of the University of Cádiz as part of its outreach and scientific culture initiatives. Student collaborators Laura Recuerdo Ramírez and Lucía Rivas Tallón also contributed to the launch of the exhibition.