Mary Anning (1799–1847) was a pioneering English paleontologist. Born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, she made significant fossil discoveries along the Jurassic Coast. Despite facing gender and class barriers, Anning's expertise challenged scientific conventions. Notable finds include the first complete Ichthyosaurus skeleton and the first British Plesiosaurus. Anning's work laid foundations for understanding prehistoric life, influencing Darwin's theory of evolution. She gained recognition posthumously for her contributions to science, although her achievements were often overshadowed during her lifetime. Anning's legacy endures as a symbol of perseverance and scientific achievement in the face of adversity.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE is an award-winning space scientist, broadcaster and author who has worked with several educational institutions to promote the study of STEM subjects.

She holds a degree in Physics and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College.

Her acclaimed work has ranged from making novel, bespoke, scientific instruments including hand-held land mine detectors and optical sub-systems for spacecraft, to co-hosting the BBC mainstay astronomy programme The Sky at Night.

As a Science Educator and the founder of Science Innovation Ltd, she has engaged some 350,000 school children, mainly in UK inner-city schools, but also around the world. She credits her deep passion for science as the tool that allowed her to break through social mobility barriers.

She received an MBE in 2009 for services to science and science education.

One of her biggest accomplishments at NASA was helping calculate the trajectory of the country’s first human spaceflight in 1961, ensuring that astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., had a safe trip. A year later she helped figure out John Glenn’s orbit of the planet.

In 1969, she calculated the trajectories of Neil Armstrong’s historic mission to the moon on Apollo 11.

Katherine Johnson was also a trailblazer who broke barriers for women and African Americans in science, inspiring kids to dream big and pursue their love for numbers and science.

Developed his ideas after a 5 year voyage on the HMS Beagle. He studied plants and animals in particular, in the Galápagos Islands. He explained how species change and develop over many generations, challenging different views on the idea of creation. He proposed that natural selection is the driving force behind evolution with the environment being the thing that selects organisms that are best suited for survival. His theory also mentions how humans and animals share common ancestors - an idea that was not looked at before.

Her work helped people understand radioactivity, which is now used to treat illnesses like cancer. She also helped put x-ray machines in ambulances in World War One, which helped doctors see where bullets were in the body of a soldier.

In 1940, Drew was appointed medical director of the "Blood for Britain" project, which collected and shipped blood plasma to British soldiers and civilians during the war. He streamlined the process, ensuring that all plasma was tested and handled under strict, sterile conditions.

He is best known for creating and narrating famous nature documentaries such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Life on Earth, and Our Planet. These programs use real scientific research and incredible footage to show how animals live, survive, and interact with their environments. Attenborough’s calm and engaging storytelling has inspired generations to care about wildlife and the planet.

Although he is not a laboratory scientist, David Attenborough’s work is deeply scientific. He studies animals and ecosystems, works closely with biologists and conservationists, and uses his programs to explain scientific ideas to the public in a way that everyone can understand. His contribution to environmental education has made science accessible and exciting to people of all ages.

Throughout his long career, Sir David has received numerous awards for his achievements, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. He continues to speak about the urgent need to protect nature, tackle climate change, and preserve biodiversity. His lifelong dedication to exploring and protecting the natural world has made him one of the most admired figures in modern science and environmental conservation

When Newton was a young man, he saw an apple fall from a tree and began to wonder why it fell straight down. This led him to think deeply about gravity, the invisible force that pulls objects towards the Earth.

environmental pollution and the natural history of the sea. Her book, Silent Spring, exposed the environmental and biological dangers of synthetic pesticides and chemicals that humans use. While the chemical industry attempted to discredit Rachel Carson, her well-researched book swayed public opinion.

Beginning to study physics from his father he would go on to obtain his bachelor’s degree of Physics in June, 1930. During this time, he would begin theorising what happens when a star ‘runs out of fuel / energy’. He discovered that if a star weighs more than approximately 1.4x the mass of our sun, it cannot simply stop burning and cool down. Instead its own gravity will crush it. This became known as the Chandrasekhar limit. The boundary line that dictates whether a star is light enough to shrink into White Dwarfs or too heavy to do so and as a result collapse into supernovas, neutron stars or black holes.

In the early days of his theories, he was mocked for his work, but was eventually proved correct and his research became a cornerstone for most modern physics research into black holes.

He won the Nobel Prize for contributions to physics in 1983 and he also has a NASA telescope named after him that is used to specifically look at and monitor black holes today.

After being approached by two male theoretical physicists, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, "Wu's experiments using cobalt-60, a radioactive form of the cobalt metal" disproved "the law of parity (the quantum mechanics law that held that two physical systems, such as atoms, are mirror images that behave in identical ways)."

Unfortunately, although this led to a Nobel Prize for Yang and Lee in 1957, Wu was excluded, as were many other female scientists during this time.

In the 1950s, West began working at the U.S. Naval Proving Ground (now the Naval Surface Warfare Center) as one of only a few Black women employed there. Her expertise in complex mathematical modelling and early computer programming contributed to highly accurate calculations of the Earth’s shape, known as the geoid. These calculations were essential for the development of satellite-based navigation systems, including GPS.

West’s achievements went largely unrecognised for decades, but in recent years her contributions have been celebrated publicly. In 2018, she was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame, and she has since become an inspiring figure representing perseverance, intellect, and the often-overlooked role of Black women in science and technology.

Richards was a pragmatic feminist, as well as a founding ecofeminist, who believed that women's work within the home was a vital aspect of the economy. At the same time, however, she did not directly challenge the prevailing cult of domesticity that valorized women's place and work in the home.