Written by: Szymon Żuraw, Jakub Żyła, Dawid Rejczyk – Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski Primary School in Sarzyna, from Poland
We would like to share our country’s contribution in the field of science. A good example is our Polish scientist Maria Skłodowska-Curie. She is an example to follow not only as a scientist but also as a woman who had to fight for her place in the male-dominated world of scientists. She is the one, who discovered elements named Polonium and Radium, that were and still are used for curing cancer. She literally devoted her life to science because high doses of radiation she was exposed to caused cancer.
Maria Skłodowska-Curie was rewarded with two Noble Prizes in the field of science. In 1903 she got the prize in physics for researching the radioactive phenomenon, and her second one in chemistry in 1911 for discovering polonium and radium. Maria Curie Skłodowska’s national identity has been a subject of discussion for years as she developed her scientific career in France and never received Polish citizenship. Yet, her first discovery was named ‘ polonium’ after Poland which did not physically exist on the map at that time. Moreover, she spoke Polish to her children and was involved in developing research institutes in Poland.
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