Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
50 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE so fun. It was my first time hosting my own Netflix show and my first time having that many resources to do the science I love. For example, I was able to create an entire pool filled with oobleck and run across it with the kids. I could make my science experiments larger than life. It was a dream come true to bring some of these hare-brained experi- ments in my head to life on a stage with an international audience of something like 120 countries and 38 different languages, all on the largest streaming platform in the world. Being able to bring science to life on a plat- form that big was incredible. Te: How was it working with the kids? Oh, so much fun. To audition, they did a sci- ence experiment, and we asked them a little bit about the science behind it, and they had to really, truly love science to get through the audition process. When I would walk into filming every day, I truly felt like I wasn't act- ing. I was teaching these kids who were genu- inely interested in how something worked. They would have these true, authentic reac- tions to the explosions or the playfulness of it all. That felt so real to me, and that's why it came across as so much fun, because there wasn't a lot of acting in the show. It was just somebody who loves science sharing it with a bunch of kids. Te: As we conclude, we wondered: Do you want to go to space, and why? Yes, it's always been a dream of mine to do that. There's never been a woman from West Virginia who's been able to go to space, and I would like to be the first. Appalachia, in general, is a region of the country that doesn't often see itself in STEM or in the space sector. For me, all the work that I do is all about representation—mak- ing science and space feel more welcom- ing to more people. Being able to represent Appalachia in that way, and then going back to Appalachia and talking about my experi- ence as a woman who is the first person in my family to pursue a degree in STEM, a woman whose dad lost his job in a dying coal indus- try and was then able to watch his daughter go into space, is so important to me. I think it would be a story that would reso- nate with a lot of West Virginians and a lot of people in Appalachia who are currently try- ing to find the next industry to work toward finding jobs. I hope it's an interesting story to help encourage them to pursue degrees in STEM. I think it would be so fun to go to space; it would be a real adventure. Te: No doubt you will be in space. I'd like to think so. One day. Te: Emily, thank you so much for your time today. This was a great conversation. Thank you. S&T