Today’s Nobel science poem is a kyrielle for the first person EVER to win two Nobel Prizes: Marie Curie…because…

today is Marie Curie’s birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!!

How to write a kyrielle:

A kyrielle is a rhyming poem originally from France. It’s written in four-line stanzas in which the last line of each stanza is repeated. Each line is eight syllables long.

Nobel Laureate – Marie Curie:
Marie Curie (originally Maria Skłodowska) and her husband Pierre Curie won the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics. Marie Curie went on to become the first person to ever win a second Nobel prize: the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. What a massive achievement!

 

Radioactivity

By Cristy Burne

 

Maria studied chemistry

She had to do so secretly

But just as well she did, you see

For radioactivity

 

From Poland to Paris she came

She found a lab, she changed her name

She worked beside Pierre Curie

On radioactivity

 

“Far out,” she said, her eyes ablaze

“These rocks give off some crazy rays

“Methinks they show proclivity

“For radioactivity”

 

She tested loads of different rocks

She measured their electric shocks

She worked with objectivity

On radioactivity

 

But one rock rocked her cranium

With more rays than uranium!

She burned to solve the mystery

Of radioactivity

 

Called pitchblende (now uraninite)

The rock contained, to her delight

New elements you could not see

Plus radioactivity

 

“I’ve found two fab new elements

“And proved it in experiments

“And one glows inexhaustibly

“With radioactivity!”

 

Excited by her thrilling find

She kept her nose well to the grind

“The world is better off,” said she

“With radioactivity”

 

She worked non-stop, progress was slow

She cured disease, made watches glow

And then she died, unfortunately,

Of radioactivity

 

Epilogue:

Sadly, Marie Curie died in 1934 from anaemia caused by her exposure to radiation. She was 66.

Her research and discoveries led directly to new ways of treating diseases including cancer. You can read more about Marie Curie’s incredibly legacy here.

 

What do you think? Want to write your own science poetry? Go on! It’s fun!

Want to learn more about some of Australia’s science heroes? Check out Aussie STEM Stars s and help spread the word of our great Australian science stars.