I feel like a prude...

[Slipper]

My 10DD came home with a project that is due next Friday (she has shows for Children's Theatre on Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues - all school excused as several students are in it) and I am trying to get a jump on the school work.

 

She has to do a report and make a 'soda bottle doll' (dress up a soda bottle including face and clothes) on a famous inventor.

 

She was assigned Hedy Lamarr. So, I went to wikipedia to read up about her. I didn't see a lot I could print off for DD, so I went googling to other sites. Ideally, I want lots of stuff about her as an inventor and a few quotes of inspirational things she has said. I'm not having much luck.

 

Anything I print off about her will need to be heavily edited by me before DD can read it. And that's what makes me feel like a prude. I'm tempted to ask the teacher for another inventor.

 

Thoughts?

Edited January 28, 2012 by Slipper

[Daisy]

Wow, even the kids' sites mention her famous nude movie scenes. Tough one. I wouldn't have a problem asking the teacher for a different inventor.

 

Otherwise I guess it is crack out the black marker. :glare:

[stripe]

http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/lamarr.html

The racy stuff is only at the very beginning.

 

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi435.htm

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/27/142664182/most-beautiful-woman-by-day-inventor-by-night

This has nothing shocking.

 

I didn't have much trouble finding them,and I am sure there's more.

 

Good luck with the quotes, though. Maybe this?

I can excuse everything but boredom. Boring people don't have to stay that way.

 

Honestly, I think the fact she was known as a "pretty face" adds to the interest in her story.

Richard Rhodes, who wrote one of the best non-fiction books about a scientific topic ever, has a new biography of Hedy Lamarr out. Perhaps you could find a copy at your library. I'm sure the many parts of the whole book are probably inappropriate for a 10 year old, but I bet you could photocopy more than enough about her most important invention to complete a class project.

[stripe]

The NPR link I posted links to an excerpt from Rhodes' book. It's an interview with him.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

http://www.hedylamarr.org/

 

It has a couple of good quotes underneath each picture. This one is the most appropriate for a school project.

"The world isn't getting any easier. With all these new inventions I believe that people are hurried more and pushed more... The hurried way is not the right way; you need time for everything - time to work, time to play, time to rest."

[Slipper]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm printing and marking a few things out.

 

I'm mostly annoyed because if I hadn't looked things up, I would be answering a LOT of questions from my over-curious DD. I really don't think it was appropriate for her age.

[Mommyfaithe]

http://www.hedylamarr.org/

 

It has a couple of good quotes underneath each picture. This one is the most appropriate for a school project.

 

I like this quote so much, I am posting it as my facebook status....love it!

Faithe

[Bang!Zoom!]

Sometimes when you are searching google for the first time out, you can do it this way:

 

Hedy Lamarr database (now click search)

 

or

 

Hedy Lamarr &pws0 (now click search)

 

You'll see differ results that way.

 

Hedy Lamarr Smithsonian also brings back some lovely stuff which is okay for kids.

[stripe]

Good point. My library has a section of kids reference databases such as Kids Info Bits and World Book Kids. World Book Kids has an article about her but it's reallllly short.

 

I searched for hedy lamarr inventions on google, btw.

[Candid]

The Diane Rehm show did a piece on her. The good news is it is audio, no visual. However, I don't remember everything they said, so you should probably listen to it first.

 

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-20/richard-rhodes-hedys-folly-life-and-breakthrough-inventions-hedy-lamarr

 

Or read the transcript:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-20/richard-rhodes-hedys-folly-life-and-breakthrough-inventions-hedy-lamarr/transcript

[laundrycrisis]

http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp

[Slipper]

Thanks. I've printed off what I need and inked out a few sections for DD. We live in a small area so we don't really have a children's reference section at the library. Our public library contains one long row of children's books from magic tree house to young adult. The school library only has one computer and it's for taking AR tests. She was given a book when the report was assigned but the books had to be simple enough so that anyone in the class could read them (the names were handed out randomly) so it was a 2nd grade level type reader - about 18 pages. (They are in 4th grade). DD said it wasn't a lot of information and she likes to read a lot when she does reports (which sounded normal enough). The teacher told the advanced group (which she's part of) to research more on their own.

 

My biggest issue is that I think the material she would have found on her own contained more topics than I really want to explain at her age. And I don't mind nudity in art, but I don't care for her seeing nudity in film (which she would have seen on some of the sites I found along in google images). She had to look up pictures of her also as we're supposed to create and dress a doll from a soda bottle.

 

I get frustrated with the school she attends (and honestly, sometimes the teacher) but overall I like her teacher. So, when DD went to school yesterday, they had this conversation: (DD, by the way, is petite, and has a prim way of talking about things she disapproves of including pursing her lips on certain topics).

 

DD: "Hi Mrs. Teacher, my mom had a question about our project?"

Teacher: "Sure, what's the question?"

DD: "Mom wanted to know if you wanted to include Hedy Lamarr's early career in the 'Adult Entertainment Industry' (this was the pursing lip part) in my report?"

Teacher: (Long Pause)

Teacher: "The what?"

DD:"The Adult Entertainment Industry".

Teacher: "She didn't!"

DD: "She did."

Teacher:"Oh my God. Really?"

DD: "Mama found her naked pictures. She said the doll should be really easy to dress."

Teacher: "Oh God." (In a whisper)-"Is your Mom mad?"

DD: "I think so at first, but she's not now."

Teacher: "Did YOU see any of the naked pictures?"

DD: "No. Mama googled first to look up things and then told me I couldn't google her because she did naked films."

Teacher: "Oh God. No, don't include any of the naked part in your report."

 

I saw the teacher last night where I gave her the details of what I found. (We actually laughed over it after she realized that DD hadn't seen or read any of the weird parts). She said we could change, but we're going ahead and doing the report. The teacher plans to have Hedy Lamarr pulled out of the inventory 'project' for future classes. I don't believe in book banning, but I don't think that she is someone for young kids to google.

[stripe]

Thanks. I've printed off what I need and inked out a few sections for DD. We live in a small area so we don't really have a children's reference section at the library.

My library has some internet resources one can access from home; does yours? The books my library has on Lamarr are all in the regular non-fiction section, not ones for kids. However, on Amazon, I did find these kids' books on her, in case anyone else wanted to know:

 

Hedy Lamarr and a Secret Communication System (Inventions and Discovery series) (Graphic Library: Inventions and Discovery) by Trina Robbins, Martin and Cynthia (Jan 1, 2007)

 

Hedy Lamarr (Discover the Life of An Inventor) by Ann Gaines (Apr 2002) ** appears to be out of print

 

and a section of

Women Invent!: Two Centuries of Discoveries That Have Shaped Our World by Susan Casey (Oct 1, 1997)

So You Want To Be An Inventor? by Judith St. George and David Small (Aug 26, 2002)

 

DD: "Mama found her naked pictures. She said the doll should be really easy to dress."

That's hilarious. Although, honestly, when I googled her, I don't appear to be getting naked pictures.

 

The Diane Rehm interview is good but it does mention her early career. It is really not appropriate to skip it, since that was such a big part of who she was, and also the perceived contrast between beauty and brains is part of what makes her story interesting.

Edited January 27, 2012 by stripe

[Slipper]

No, our library has nothing that we can access from home. We can't renew books from home (like we could the last place we lived) or anything. Our library doesn't do inter-library loan either.

 

We're not going to ignore her movie-star status. Actually we're dressing the doll up as her character from Samson and Delilah. We're just going to disregard the movies she made prior to her move to the US. (And of course, that she's famous for having the first 'O' on film!).

[Slipper]

You might call the librarian at the public high school. She'll have the access codes for the district's databases. They should have ebsco online.

 

I use the NYC library online's dbs as they are free for cardholders and all NY state residents can be cardholders. You might try the Philadelphia Free Library if your state doesn't have anything, it is $35 a year to out of state people. http://libwww.freelibrary.org/kids/kids.cfm

 

Thanks! I'll definitely do that!