In this first guest episode, I chat with my longtime friend and collaborator, Nancy Scales Coddington. Nancy is a multipassionate, operating at the intersection of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), creativity and fun.

In a wide-ranging conversation, we cover topics including what it means to be a Renaissance Person, responsible science storytelling, refusing to niche down, the fun of blowing things up with liquid nitrogen, where creativity is found in STEM, and combining dance and movement with STEM.

Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):

• Nancy's Galaxy Goddess Dress Instagram posts: Reinvent Magazine, Making the dress and fashion show, ONE-SPACE event and Costa Rica Yuri's Night  
• Nancy’s Anti-niche/on a tangent Instagram post
• SciComm Solutions website
• SciGirls and National Girls Collaborative Project
• WSKG's Science Pub YouTube Channel
• Nancy’s Trees with mist Instagram post
• Sara's LinkedIn rant on the left brain, right brain poster
• Integrating Science and Dance from the Kennedy Center for the Arts
• WSKG's YouTube Videos about movement
• BONUS - Not discussed, but check out the Dance Your PhD contest winners (warning, MAJOR rabbit hole of videos) and local organizations like the NYC-based STEM From Dance.
• WSKG's YouTube video Women in Entomology: Meet the Superheroes of Insect Science
• Princess Awesome – Maker of Sara’s pi dress and other clothes that smash stereotypes
• Sara and Nancy having fun (and Sara’s pi dress)

Follow Nancy on Social Media:

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X | YouTube

A few things Nancy and I discuss:

• 4:09 Science Storytelling
• 4:28 Defining "Renaissance Person"
• 8:02 Where Nancy thrives as a Renaissance Person
• 9:40 Being anti-niche
• 12:43 How Nancy connects the dots for STEM curious educators and youth to build STEM identity
• 15:16 Working in science museums and the fun of blowing things up and making food with liquid nitrogen
• 16:20 Building science communication skills
• 20:05 Using emotion in storytelling including responsibly using negative emotions
• 24:15 Increased distrust of science during the pandemic
• 25:03 Creativity in "left brain" and "right brain" activities
• 29:46 Creativity in science and math vs engineering and technology
• 37:14 Dancing and movement with STEM
• 40:44 Explaining your complexity without overwhelming the listener
• 44:53 Improv Game: "You might be a Renaissance Person if..."
• 47:23 Rapidish Fire Questions

Quotes from the Episode:

• "When I hear somebody say, stay in your lane, I'm like, oh...that sounds like a challenge. (Nancy) Challenge accepted! (Sara)
• "Visually, how do you translate the story of the universe into an outfit? You know, not a collection? One outfit... (Nancy) This is not Project Runway folks. This is, you know, one episode. (Sara) Make it work! (Nancy)"
• "I love weather because I call it the gateway drug to STEM. And I can talk to a 3-year-old and I can talk to a 93-year-old with dementia. And it's that word relevant. It matters in their life." (Sara)
• "But people, I know this is a spoiler people, normal people don't read white papers. (Nancy) Except for Renaissance nerds who read it for fun like me. (Sara)"
• "My elevator speech is that I help to bridge science with storytelling. I help the STEM curious to find their STEM identity and space in out-of-school or afterschool spaces." (Nancy)
• "Where there's gonna be STEM and creativity and fun is where you're gonna find me." (Nancy)

Calling all Renaissance People!

If you’re a Renaissance Person who’d like to join the conversation as a guest on my show, complete this quick form and I’ll get back to you as I’m scheduling recording dates.

Follow me, your host, Sara Kobilka on LinkedIn, where I put most of her social media energy and Facebook.

Stay updated about the Renaissance People Community I am building. This podcast is just one part of a multifaceted project because that’s how Renaissance People roll!

And should you care to support the production of this podcast, I'd love it if you'd buy me an oat milk cappuccino, the caffeinated beverage of my choice.

This podcast is hosted and edited by Sara Kobilka.

Theme music is by Brian Skellenger

Podcast distribution support provided by K.O. Myers of Particular Media