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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
A group photo in the rotunda of museum in front of the elephant with all women who work in the museum
Second Floor | Exhibit

Challenging the Face of Science: The Bearded Lady Project

Past exhibit September 26, 2021
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Meet inspirational female scientist

“The Bearded Lady Project” is a traveling exhibition composed of a series of 38 black-and-white portraits taken by art photographer Kelsey Vance. The photographs showcase female paleontologists conducting in the field, laboratories, offices, and museums. The paleontologists posed for the large-format camera wearing fake beards to challenge the public perception of what a scientist looks like.

 

a cut out image of Ellen Currano in the field wearing a beard and holding tools

Look For

Kay Behrensmyer wearing a beard
A black-and-white photograph of Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer in front of a diorama from the Museum’s old Fossil Hall
a collage panel of text and images on a black exhibit wall
Photographs of scientists at work
Lisa Bouche wearing a beard in the field
In the photograph of Dr. Lisa Bouche, look for her “dog tags” from her Arctic research expedition
A group photo in the rotunda of museum in front of the elephant with all women who work in the museum
A photograph of the women of the National Museum of Natural History
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Things to Do

  • Watch a short video and meet a few of the amazing scientists featured in the exhibit. Travel with them into the field, into the lab, and into their museums, and hear their stories of overcoming challenges along the way to becoming scientists.
  • Consider the answers to challenging questions such as “Do women in the sciences have to work harder to stand out?” and “Have you ever been disrespected, overlooked, passed over, silenced, or rewarded differently because of your identity?"
  • Pledge to make a difference whatever we do, where we live or work or go to school, and whatever we look like.

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