The Making Core Memory project introduces underrepresented students to stories of innovation that feature women and particularly women of color by teaching the story of the core memory weavers and their contribution to the Apollo Space Mission. My directed research group under the UW HCDE Department focuses on groups left out of stories about innovation by creating a toolkit intended to encourage students to think about their own stories and ones that aren’t always told. 

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In the workshops, participants will:

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1. Complete an interactive weaving activity using a chipboard loom, yarn and plastic beads in place of the wire and ferrite cores used in core memory. 

2. Learn about the work done by the "Little Old Ladies" (as the Apollo Engineers called them) who put man on the moon

3. Participate in a group discussion about representation in STEM.

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My main project was to design the instructions for making the core memory kits.

The goals of my designs are:

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1. Provide clear visuals and texts on how to assemble the kits and how they work 

2. Educate the history of Core Memory and the people who worked on it

3. Generate meaningful discussions and encourage readers to reflect on their own experience