Women at MAGMAX
On the occasion of Women’s Day on 8 March, MAGMAX is dedicating a special Temporary Exhibition until 25 April to the presence and fundamental contribution of women to Earth Sciences, not only in the field of laboratory research but also in the practice of mining and the society that surrounds it. Ample space is also dedicated to the analogy that has always inextricably linked the female figure with precious stones and jewels.
Documents, images and objects will be exhibited referring to historical figures such as Marie Curie, who spent a lifetime studying radioactive substances, Nobel prize winner for chemistry such as Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, forerunner of the X-ray diffraction technique, Mary Anning, the first paleontologist to discover marine and reptile skeletons, and Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, chemist and wife of Antoine Lavoisier, executed in the French Revolution. The historical figures are accompanied by mythical figures such as Santa Barbara, patron saint of miners and protagonist on December 4 of each year of celebrations in the mines.
The exhibition is also a tribute to the teacher Adriana Trevis, who managed despite the discrimination against her gender and her Jewish culture to graduate in Chemistry in the dark Fascist period, making a contribution to scientific divulgation as well as inspiring the creator of MAGMAX, Massimo Umberto Tomalino.
The exhibition “Women at MAGMAX” joins the one dedicated to the Moon, and will end together on April 25th.
In the photo: Paola of Liège, who in 1961 wanted to visit the mining center of Montegnée to learn more about the conditions of the workers.