Sunday Selfie: Rachel Carson

Take your photo with a renowned scientist – taking the history of science to a new dimension (2-D that is).

This quarter, come take your picture with a full-size image of Rachel Carson standing with her binoculars, observing the natural world. On the main floor of the FWW, and learn about her contributions to launching the modern environmental movement, in particular with a copy of Silent Spring, the book that awakened the concern of Americans for the environment.

About Rachel Carson

• Born May 27, 1907, in Springdale, PA.
• World renowned marine biologist, author, and environmentalist.
• Served as editor-in-chief for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
• Best known for her fourth book, Silent Spring, which alerted the world to the environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides and has been credited with launching the contemporary environmental movement and awakening the concern of Americans for the environment.
• Appointed a junior aquatic biologist with the Bureau of Fisheries and became one of only two women then employed with the Bureau at a professional level (1936).
• Testified before a Congressional committee after the federal government ordered a complete review of its pesticide policy.  As a direct result, DDT was banned (1963).
• The Fish & Wildlife Service named one of its refuges near Carson’s summer home on the coast of Maine as the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge to honor the memory of this extraordinary woman (1969).
• Remembered as an early activist who worked to preserve the world for future generations.

Take a selfie with this environmental she-ro, and share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, using the hashtag #FWWDiscover.