A Gift for Mom! 🤍

‘Emily’s Wonder Lab’ on Netflix Makes Science (and Girl Power!) Cool

3 Minute Read

By Jenny Rapson

Emily's Wonder Lab on Netflix — Emily Calandrelli/Emily's Wonder Lab

As a college student in engineering classes, Emily Calandrelli says she was one of two or three women in a classroom of 50 men. Undeterred, she graduated from West Virginia University and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Technology and Policy from MIT. Soon after, Calandrelli began taking her love for space and engineering to the public via Ted Talks, and as a correspondent on Bill Nye Saves the World and an Executive Producer and host of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space. Now known as “The Space Gal,” she’s also the author of the acclaimed children’s STEM series, Ada Lace Adventures, about a little girl who loves science and technology. Her aim through all of this is to inspire more fellow females to get excited about pursuing STEM careers, and I LOVE it!

Last month, Emily Calandrelli announced on her Facebook page that she is the host of a newly-premiered Netflix series for kids called Emily’s Wonder Lab. (It’s available now!)

While that is exciting in and of itself, just this week she offered up some inspiring info about the show and how she faced rejection from science-specific TV networks because of her gender.

In a post on her page, Emily Calandrelli says, “For many years I pitched science shows to large science networks and was unsuccessful. I would receive the feedback that ‘the majority of our audience is male, so we just don’t know if they’d relate to a female host.'”

Ugh! Insert enraged eye roll here: I’m looking at you, science networks!

Don’t worry, though, it gets better! Emily then goes on to say:

“But last year, Netflix picked up our science show, Emily’s Wonder Lab. I filmed the entire thing 9-months pregnant. So there is now a female-led science show on the biggest streaming platform in the world hosted by a pregnant woman—available worldwide.

I’m just . . . so incredibly proud that my daughter will be able to watch this someday. When I was studying to become an engineer, I was one of 2 or 3 women in classrooms of 50 men. I’m hoping shows like this help change that demographic for her generation.”

Could this be any more inspiring? Replace that rolling eye with a teary one! I seriously could not love this any more.

Not only is Emily Calandrelli showing our girls a strong female scientist in a rewarding career, and teaching kids that curiosity and fun can go hand-in-hand with learning, but she’s showing them that motherhood can go hand-in-hand with your career dreams coming true. YASSSS, GIRL!

My hypothesis? Emily’s Wonder Lab is going to be a huge hit and a great companion to her other efforts to get girls jazzed about STEM careers. She’s a great example to them of going after your nerdy dreams and fighting stereotypes!

Whose kiddos are already into Emily’s show? If your kids are doing virtual learning, it could be a great addition to their school day! I am totally getting my 9-year-old started on it this weekend for some extra great educational content.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Jenny Rapson

Jenny Rapson is a follower of Christ, a wife and mom of three from Ohio and a freelance writer and editor. You can find her at her blog, Mommin' It Up, or follow her on Twitter.

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In: Living

Mother’s Day is one of the hardest days of the year for me. The truth is, I always wanted to be a mom. I’m not a mother. Not in the traditional sense. And while I usually stay quiet on days like this, today I want to speak for the ones who carry this ache quietly…without cards, without flowers, without answers. In college, I was the girl with pillows under her shirt, daydreaming about baby names and planning a future I never got to hold. I once bought a house and made a nursery for children who never came. I remember...

Keep Reading

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

In: Living

I’m in the years where I’m not old, but I’m no longer young. Some women my age are just announcing their first pregnancies, while others like me are navigating pre-teen and teenage years. The 30s hold a different kind of tension. The days move faster now. Not because little feet are toddling through the house, but because the calendar is always full. Afternoons are spent running kids to practices, sitting in parking lots, and juggling dinner between drop-offs and pick-ups. The conversations are deeper. The questions are bigger. The stakes feel higher. This season isn’t about sticky fingers and sleepless...

Keep Reading

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

In: Living

I didn’t need a sick day. I needed a well day—and I didn’t realize how much until I finally took one. We’ve labeled our time off into neat, acceptable categories. Sick days are for fevers and doctor appointments. Personal days are reserved for emergencies and obligations. But what about the in-between days? When there’s no real diagnosable health issue and no major event or appointment that needs attendance. The days when there’s nothing technically wrong, but everything feels off. A day when you’re barely hanging on, but still showing up. That’s where the well day comes in. On behalf of...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

In: Living, Motherhood

It took me 39 years to like myself. I mean really, honestly look in the mirror and say, “You go, girl.” I understand the concept of progress, not perfection, but the idea of always working on myself became a tiring and unrelenting objective. Here I was shrinking that waist, smoothing my skin, studying hard, working way too late, and often burning the candle at both ends to yield results that were still less than the ideal. It’s all well and good to be a doer who sets reasonable and sometimes unreasonable goals, but throughout my teens and into my early...

Keep Reading

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

In: Living

Teen girl sitting on grass looking at fountain

Dear Graduate, I know you’re feeling it all right now. Anticipation, trepidation, and then other times, you don’t know what to feel at all. I know because I once felt the same. I graduated from high school several years ago, and here’s what I want you to know: It’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. Whether you plan to attend college, take a gap year, get a job, or you don’t know yet what you want to do, it’s okay. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. It’s so easy to fall into the...

Keep Reading

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

In: Living

From a young age, I knew what I wanted my future career to look like. I pursued a path in healthcare, determined to use my gift for compassion to help others. I loved it. Being a small part of someone’s life during vulnerable moments made me feel like I was truly living out God’s calling on my life. Until I had children of my own. The work I did was exhausting—physically, mentally, and emotionally. What I didn’t anticipate was how that exhaustion would grow once I had children waiting for me at the end of each day. I was giving...

Keep Reading

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

In: Living

I was pregnant with my first baby in 2023, and my pregnancy was “picture perfect,” or so I was told. I went to all of my appointments, and every time I was reassured that everything looked great. My weight gain was “normal,” my baby was measuring appropriately, and his heartbeat was strong. My blood pressure was always a little elevated, but no one seemed concerned. Everything was fine…until it wasn’t. Looking back, I knew deep down something wasn’t right when I gained 10 pounds between my May and June appointments. I brushed it off, blaming a recent trip to Texas...

Keep Reading

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

In: Friendship

Ever since Ashley Tisdale wrote about leaving her toxic mom group, I have noticed something shift among women my age, moms in our 40s who built friendships through school drop-offs, soccer sidelines, neighborhood walks, and birthday parties. Here is the thing….no one wants to be labeled the “mean girls mom group.” Recently, I was out to dinner with a friend when she shared something that stuck with me. A woman had quietly left their local moms’ group and later treated them as if they were exclusionary. The final straw? She had sent a group text at dinnertime and no one...

Keep Reading

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

In: Living, Motherhood

During my oldest daughter’s freshman year of college, I started being haunted by a recurring dream of an old-fashioned suitcase—one of those hard-sided ones that’s as big as they come. In the dream, when I open the suitcase, it’s overflowing with clothing, shoes, and all kinds of stuff that belongs to me and each of my three daughters. Everything in the suitcase is all jumbled together. Nobody else in the dream is worried about sorting through everything, but I am totally stressed about it. To top it all off, I have to deal with this suitcase while preparing for a...

Keep Reading

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

In: Faith, Living

Insecurity is something we all carry in one form or another. For me, it has probably always looked confident and outgoing from the outside. But internally, it can feel heavy, complicated, and exhausting at times. And when someone comes along whose behavior reinforces those insecurities, it amplifies what was already there. There was someone I had hoped to genuinely connect with, but it was clear from the start that the feeling wasn’t mutual. From the beginning, their wall was up. No matter how kind I tried to be or how carefully I showed up, it never came down. Their distance...

Keep Reading

I Married a Man Who Knows How To Love a Mother

Marriage

I Married a Man Who Knows How To Love a Mother

6 Coping Strategies For the Extra-Stressed Sandwich Generation

Grown Children

‘Emily’s Wonder Lab’ on Netflix Makes Science (and Girl Power!) Cool

Last month, Emily Calandrelli announced on her Facebook page that she is the host of a newly-premiered Netflix series for kids called Emily’s Wonder Lab. (It’s available now!)

Ugh! Insert enraged eye roll here: I’m looking at you, science networks!

Could this be any more inspiring? Replace that rolling eye with a teary one! I seriously could not love this any more.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Jenny Rapson

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

‘Emily’s Wonder Lab’ on Netflix Makes Science (and Girl Power!) Cool

Last month, Emily Calandrelli announced on her Facebook page that she is the host of a newly-premiered Netflix series for kids called Emily’s Wonder Lab. (It’s available now!)

Ugh! Insert enraged eye roll here: I’m looking at you, science networks!

Could this be any more inspiring? Replace that rolling eye with a teary one! I seriously could not love this any more.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like