Marie Curie

Hello. My name is Marie, but when I was a little girl in a place called Poland, everyone called me Manya. A long time ago, in the year 1867, I was born. I loved to read, and my head was always full of big questions. I wanted to know why the sun was so warm and what the stars were made of. My biggest dream was to go to a special big school called a university to learn all about science. But it was very hard for girls to go to the big school back then. I felt a little sad, but I knew I had to be brave. I promised myself I would never, ever give up on my dream to be a scientist.

When I grew up, I moved to a beautiful, busy city called Paris so I could go to the big school. It was so exciting. There, I met a kind scientist named Pierre. We loved science and we loved each other, so we got married. We had a special workshop where we did our experiments. It was a cozy, old shed, but to us, it was the best place in the world. We worked with heavy, dark rocks and tried to find out what secrets were hiding inside. It was very hard work, but we helped each other. One day, we found something amazing. It was a tiny piece of the rock that glowed with a soft, magical light, even in the dark. We felt so happy and danced around our little shed.

We named our glowing discoveries polonium, after my home, Poland, and radium because it glowed with rays of light. We learned that these special glowing things could be used to help people. The rays from radium could help doctors see inside our bodies to help us when we are sick. I was so happy that my questions led me to something that could help the whole world. Always remember to be curious and ask big questions. You never know what magical things you might discover, too.