How does the Smithsonian activate local and national conversations about the stories of women and people of underrepresented genders in STEM to learners in an ever-changing world? The National Air and Space Museum’s annual Sally’s Night celebration is a unique and exciting example of an activation that is community centered, collaborative, and fun. In this interview with staff from the National Air and Space Museum, learn about the motivations behind Sally’s Night, and how we can all participate in uplifting Sally Ride’s legacy.
Coren, Ashleigh:
So, this is a hard ball question. What is Sally's Night?
Dr. Emily A. Margolis, curator of contemporary spaceflight:
Sally's Night is named in honor of astronaut Dr. Sally K. Ride, the first American woman in space, and it is held annually around the anniversary of her first spaceflight, STS-7, which launched on June 18th, 1983. The goal of Sally's Night is to emphasize the contributions of women and people of underrepresented genders to spaceflight, space sciences, and science, technology, engineering, and math careers more broadly. Their stories are often under told or under known, and so we're using the anniversary of Dr, Ride’s flight to elevate these stories and bring them to learners of all ages all around the world.
Shauna Edson, astronomy educator:
Sally's Night is a celebration of women+ in the sciences. It is about empowering the next generation that is going to become the next Sally Rides, the future thinkers and expanders of this world. Over the past three years we’ve offered programs and activities to provide families and young people the opportunity to rectify the issue of gender equity in STEM, while also encouraging them to explore the exciting world of science. This year our focus is integrating a growth mindset into offerings to help our audiences understand the work of scientists. There is magic in working at something and finding that persistence, allowing oneself to fail forward, and resilience allows you to grow and learn.
Amy Stamm, digital strategist and social media lead:
This is our third Sally's Night. But this year is really special because it's the 40th anniversary of Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space. With help from funds from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, our flagship Sally’s Night celebration at Nationals Park in Washington, DC is just one of twenty-two in person celebrations across the country at Smithsonian Affiliate museums. This includes aerospace museums like the San Diego Air & Space Museum and the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. But the list of sites also includes science museums. This is on purpose - Sally Ride was not just about inspiring people to become astronauts. She was about inspiring boys and girls to become scientists and to learn more about science. We also share this vision at Air and Space. Our collections and programs address the history of aviation and different fields within STEM.
Ashleigh Coren:
What are the origins of Sally's Night?
Dr. Emily A. Margolis:
I joined the National Air and Space Museum in the summer of 2020 as the museum’s first ever curator of American women's history. One of the things that I appreciate about the museum is they've done such a great job throughout the years of telling women's stories. But I felt like there was something missing in the broader landscape of sort of space and aviation commemoration in recognizing that women's stories were not being told to the fullest extent. There is a long-standing celebration on April 12th which is known as Yuri's Night, which is the anniversary of the first human, Yuri Gagarin, going into space. People celebrate all around the world and come together over their love of space. And I thought, we basically need something to do that but center the experiences of women and their contributions which are often not remembered as frequently-- and to do so using the strengths of the Air and Space Museum. As a Smithsonian organization, our goal is to celebrate. But it's also to commemorate, educate, and inspire. And so we grounded Sally’s Night through our historic collections and our in-house educators and their expertise to create a celebration of women in space. And we wanted to do that in a way that engages younger learners and families and everyone.
Shauna Edson:
There are so many movers and shakers, incredible women and people who have contributed so much to various aspects of spaceflight and related fields, and our audiences were hungry for this kind of content.
Ashleigh Coren:
How can audiences participate in Sally's Night?
Dr. Emily A. Margolis:
If you are local to DC, there is an in-person celebration at the Nationals Park during one of the Washington Nationals games. When we were thinking about venues to host a Sally's Night celebration, one of the things that we were really excited about was meeting people where they are, people who might not think they need to learn about women's history on a random weekend day at a baseball game. And we also wanted to make sure that we reach a really broad audience because oftentimes, women's history programming can draw audiences of women exclusively. But we truly believe that women are role models for all people. This year the program is on Sunday, June 18th, which is the 40th anniversary of Sally Ride’s flight. Ride’s niece Cait will be at the game, and we'll have programming along the concourse with lots of different partners, including the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum along with Sally Ride Science, the organization that Sally Ride co-founded with her partner Tam Shaughnessy. We also have a directory of in-person Sally's Night celebrations across the country that anyone can find on our website. Users can share their STEM story or highlight their favorites stories of women and underrepresented genders in STEM using the hashtag #ShineLikeSally.
And then anyone with an Internet connection can participate in Sally's Night through our social media and the incredible website that Amy is designing that will have many different features. Learners can access biographies or profiles of women in STEM from every single US state and territory. The website also features an interactive map with historic and contemporary biographies from all different disciplines in STEM.
Amy Stamm:
The map project would not have been possible without two incredible interns, Ariel Finkel and Emma Goulet. They did incredible research to build these women's profiles. The website will also have a virtual exhibition featuring artifacts from our variety of partner organizations across the country. And finally, we have produced a downloadable celebration guide for the organizations holding events, which can also be used by parents, caregivers, teachers, camp counselors. In the guide folks can learn about Sally Ride and do several hands-on activities that can be done with items that they might have in their own homes. We encourage everyone to use the hashtag #ShineLikeSally and share all the wonderful ways we continue to uplift Ride’s legacy.
Ashleigh Coren:
Why is it important for the Smithsonian to be hosting events like Sally's night?
Dr. Emily A. Margolis:
The Smithsonian has an opportunity to be a leader in sharing the stories of women in STEM. We have the creative minds, incredible collections, and the responsibility to make sure that women are properly credited for their contributions as a way of creating a space for the next generations of women.
Samia Khan, project specialist:
I think it's important that we as the Smithsonian reach out to our local community as well. Often, we are focused on engaging visitors inside the Museum, but this program lets us share content outside of the walls of our museum. It’s great that with Sally’s Night we can engage a local DMV audience. It should be us leading this charge, but it also should be us engaging with local partners and being present in the Washington, DC area.
Ashleigh Coren:
To add, Sally Ride and her partner entrusted Ride’s materials to the Smithsonian. It’s a really big deal for Ride to entrust the Smithsonian with caring for and interpreting her story.
Dr. Emily A. Margolis:
Thank you for reminding us of that, Ashleigh. Sally's Night could not exist without the generous collaboration of Sally Ride Science and the support of her family, Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy, Rev. Dr. Bear Ride, and Cait Ride. They've been so encouraging of this event. Sally Ride passed away in 2012. She is not here to give us her blessing, but we hope that when we tell her story, it feels right for her family, colleagues, and others who knew and loved her. It could not exist any other way.
Shauna Edson is the astronomy educator at the National Air and Space Museum.
Samia Khan is the project specialist at the National Air and Space Museum. She guides digital media development for Sally's Night.
Dr. Emily A. Margolis is the curator of contemporary Space Flight at the National Air and Space Museum.
Amy Stamm is the digital strategist and social media lead at the National Air and Space Museum
