STEM GOOOOAAAAALLLLLS

Cosmos was awesome, so I definitely had to get the DVD! Click on the pic to access my Cosmos posts!

In the spirit of the World Cup, let's check out some important goals to achieving diversity within the STEM community. But first .... Germany's Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA's Reid Wiseman and Steve Swanson are both celebrating advancing to the next stage of the World Cup.  Check out some quick soccer moves on the International Space Station (ISS).

We've made great progress in a few STEM diversity goals - let's check em out!

1) Highlighting women in science.

While we will always advocate for more women in STEM, we don't want to forget about the ones that are representing right now!  Kyla McMullen has done a great job to help us reach this goal. Her list of the Sexiest Black Female Scientists, which was inspired by a similar Business Insider list that featured no women of color, was all over the net recently. Check it out to see some gorgeous, intelligent women that are contributing to the world in a huge way.

2) Showing a diversity of scientists on mainstream TV

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a Black astrophysicist, conquered Westeros and Essos and consistently topped ratings in the Sunday evening time slot for Cosmos. I hosted live tweets every Sunday and had great engagement and participation from science lovers and newbies alike.  Tyson definitely helped show the world that a person of color can successfully lead a science program.

3) Showing a diversity of video game makers and shakers

The people behind the gaming industry tend to be white and male - not representative of the diverse set of people that enjoy games. Recently, Aisha Tyler continued her excellent hosting duties during the largest video game industry conference of the year (Ubisoft's press conference at E3 2014).  She also interviewed with NPR about diversity in the gaming space.  Finally, I've been lucky enough to be a part of several episodes of the Spawn On Me podcast, which focuses on people of color within the gaming industry.

I'll make sure to check in on these goals and others!

#Cosmos E13 - World B Free

Well ... that's it. Cosmos is done!  On one hand, it means that I can return to regular science blogging on this site.  I am sad though - it's truly been a great experience to share this show with you and others that realize the impact that science has in your life.  Congratulations to Fox, Seth McFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan, and everyone else that made this series possible.

Check out a video from the show discussing the Alexandria Library.  Below the video is the Storify live tweet that I hosted on Sunday.

#Cosmos E12 - Let's Get Free

Episode 12 of Fox's Cosmos focuses on the scientific rationale for climate change. The greenhouse effect, which was one of the main scientific endeavors of the original Cosmos host Carl Sagan, is when gas in the atmosphere traps sunlight bouncing off of the Earth's surface. Modern civilization burns fossil fuels which adds more carbon to the air, helping the atmosphere get even warmer.  Check out this video below for a visual explanation of the greenhouse effect.

Look below for more video blurbs from Cosmos, as well as the live Storify twitter chat that we held during the show's viewing.

#Cosmos E11: Eternalists

(I live tweet Cosmos every Sunday @ 8pm CST. For all of my Cosmos recaps, please click here)

Episode 11 of Fox's Cosmos, "The Immortals", focuses things that stand the test of time - the first written word, stories, and organisms that can survive for millenia. All these things stand the test of time - and could possibly have extraterrestrial origins.

Early in the formation of our solar system, Earth and the other planet were slammed by asteroids and other rocks.  Rocks were flying all over the place, and organisms were along for the ride - possibly exchanging life between the planets.

Check out some video from the show below, as well as the Storify of the latest live tweet below!

#Cosmos E10: Electric Circus

Before this week's Cosmos, I was featured on the Black Girl Nerds podcast with Danielle Lee.  We talked Cosmos and other science issues - check it out the podcast below as well as the accompanying Storify!

Episode 10 of Fox's Cosmos is titled "The Electric Boy" - and luckily has no tie in Jamie Foxx's Electro from The Amazing Spiderman 2. We see how the first electric motor and generator were created based on the observations and experiments of scientists such as Michael Faraday and Humphry Davys. With the added math of James Maxwell, the world was ready to harness the part of electricity in useful ways. 

Check out some YouTube videos from Fox's channel and the live tweet Storify conversation below!