I found this museum to be particularly interesting because it seemed to wrap up a lot of the museums we had seen previously into one, touching on each subject briefly. This felt like a good way to end the trip as it refreshed all of the information we had learned and displayed many objects to show the evolution of specific inventions. I also found this to be intriguing because our guide talked about subjects that we had discussed at previous museums, as well as during our class discussions. One thing she mentioned that caught my attention was about Antoine Lavoisier. I had previously heard this name, since he largely influenced the subject of chemistry, but what I did not know was the role his wife played in this as well. Marie-Anne Lavoisier assisted Antoine in his work by writing and translating much of his work. Without this, his ideas would have never spread worldwide, so her work was pivotal. After Antoine's execution, she hid many of his research belongings in order to protect them from being taken, and as a result, the museum had many of the originals of his items.
I thought it was interesting to hear this because we credit Antoine with all of his discoveries, but we never hear about the work Marie-Anne did to spread these discoveries around the world. I found this to tie into many of our class discussions since we talked a lot about who deserves credit in various situations, as well as women receiving a lack of credit for many discoveries and actions. I believe that knowing the work Marie-Anne did in this story is just as important as Antoine's work because without her work, his ideas would have never gotten as far as they did since they would not have been translated.
I also thought it was interesting learning about the role Marie-Anne had in the world of chemistry. Like you mentioned, it tied in nicely with our discussions on the overlooked role of women in science. Along with that notion, I thought what our guide said on the stereotypes of women working in the call center was also very relevant. While not perfect, it shows just how far we have come in women representation.
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DeleteThe mention of Marie-Anne was definitely something that I hadn't heard about before. For as much as she contributed to the world of chemistry, I am surprised that I had never heard anything about her until visiting this museum. It kind of goes along with some of the face to face discussions we had relating to who gets credit for the discoveries. While Antione was the one to discover everything, Marie definitely deserves a lot more credit and recognition that what she has received.
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