BY KATIE ZONDLO
Every year on the second Tuesday of October, the world celebrates Ada Lovelace Day, which honors the accomplishments of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Started in 2009 as a way to inspire future generations of girls to enter STEM fields as well as support the women already working in STEM careers, groups now host gatherings, conferences, workshops and social mixers that appeal to audiences of all ages.
The day is named after Augusta Ada King, the Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), who is considered the first computer programmer. Using an early general-purposed computer called an Analytical Engine, an instrument envisioned by her friend and mentor Charles Babbage, Ada recognized the 19th century machine could be used for more than just general calculation. She poured over numbers and figures to create an algorithm for the not-yet built computer. Unfortunately, the Analytical Engine was never completed, so Ada wasn’t able to witness the success of her program.
Nearly a century after Ada wrote her algorithm, modern day computers tested the software and discovered there was only one minor mistake that could be easily corrected. The program was almost perfect. In the late 20th century, the United States Department of Defense developed a common computer programming language that was named Ada, in honor of Lovelace and her contributions to the field.
We’re celebrating today by highlighting award-winning author and Princeton alumna Laurie Wallmark’s picture book biography, Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books, 2015). Recipient of the National Science Teachers Association’s Outstanding Science Trade Book and the California Reading Association’s Eureka Book Award, you can find it read here by Story Time With Michele. The book’s truly gorgeous illustrations are by April Chu. Laurie has authored several more books about women in STEM, such as Kalpana Chawla, Judit Polgár, Grace Hopper, and Maria Mitchell!
Ada Lovelace is also featured, along with four other famous scientists, in the virtual escape room I designed, The Discovery Museum.
Images from blog post are from: Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, written by Laurie Wallmark and illustrated by April Chu. Creston Books, 2015.
Keep company with literary luminaries this fall! The Department of Special Collections at Princeton University Library invites you to “In the Company of Good Books: Shakespeare to Morrison,” currently on display in the Milberg Gallery of Firestone Library through December 10th.
Also in the exhibit are the manuscript notes, sketchbooks, and original storage case of Maria Edgeworth, a prolific novelist for both adults and young readers.
An early edition of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is displayed, which reminded me of this very interesting fact. When she was only twelve or thirteen, Austen penned The Beautifull Cassandra: A Novel in Twelve Chapters, a tiny work of 465 words total. The Princeton University Press 
Readers might not be aware that Morrison made significant contributions to children’s literature as well. Collaborating with Slade Morrison, mother and son authored nine books for children. These delightful tales were displayed in Cotsen’s 
If you are interested in learning more about the exhibit, you will find a digital companion 
You’ll need:
We constructed the buildings and park with shoe boxes and box lids, but the city dump was much larger. It was big box with a removable chute that allowed kids to tip their garbage and send it sliding into the dump. You can see the whole thing here, modeled by our awesome grad student volunteer Shruti Sharma (who was also a 
Once every kid had made a truck, they received a “route card” that showed the order in which they needed to visit each place. Since there were 5 sites, I made 5 routes, all different so they story time kids wouldn’t clump together. Each route, of course, ended at the city dump.
We placed the buildings around the library, and each had it’s own unique “garbage” to be collected. Mostly, these were little do-dads and art supplies from the cabinet. The school’s garbage, for example, are leftover wooden letters from 
At the city dump, Shruti helped kids slide the garbage down the chute. The back of the big box was cut open, in case kids wanted to take their garbage home. It got a little messy and chaotic. But hey! It IS a dump after all!
If you would like to do this story time and don’t have time to make the buildings, no worries! Here’s a printable set of the buildings that you can tape to walls and tables. Drive safe, and happy collecting!