Human computers? Although it may sound like science fiction, the term was used to describe the women who made the NASA calculations before the advent of electronic computers. A 21-slide presentation introduces viewers to the women who played a key role in developing supersonic flight and deep space exploration.

Concepts

african american history, famous african americans, black history month, women's history, women's history month, nasa, computers, segregation

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Instructional Ideas

• Provide viewers with a worksheet that lists the scientific terms, their definitions, and formulae used in the videos
• Pause the videos frequently to permit viewers to ask clarifying questions and take notes
• Ask class members to select one woman featured in the resource to research in greater depth and present their findings to their peers

Classroom Considerations

• The narrators of the sonic boom and wind testing videos speak very rapidly and use unfamiliar scientific terms (Eulers Method, etc.)
  
• Requires access to computers with internet
• Includes information about how the research labs were segregated

Pros

• The resources feature the contributions of African American women to the program
• Embedded videos include clips from the film Hidden Figures

Cons

• Some of the 21 images are not centered making identifying the subject difficult