Newnham PhD Student Ming Khan will be delivering the opening talk at the Natural History Museum’s Family Festival ‘Sultana’s Dream’ on Saturday 24 June in the Attenborough Studio. Ming will be talking about the adventures across five countries that led her to becoming a natural scientist, her ongoing journey to Antarctica and the weird and wonderful animals that live in Antarctic oceans today, and 65 million years ago.
‘Sultana’s Dream’ is an ode to the South Asian scientists that have contributed to our understanding of the natural world. It is part of the NHM’s Explorers Programme, an initiative that encourages and supports people from Black, Asian, Arab and other racially marginalised communities to pursue careers in the natural history sector.
The Explorers Programme is a three year programme that aims to encourage and support people from Black, Asian, Arab and other racially marginalised backgrounds into careers in Earth, environmental and ecological sciences. According to research, the environmental sector is currently underrepresented by those from Black, Asian and other non-white backgrounds. The Policy Exchange 2017 report, The Two Sides of Diversity, revealed that the environmental profession was the second least ethnically diverse occupation.
“It’s a great honour to be able share my enthusiasm for earth and natural sciences with a new generation of young learners, along with their families,” says Ming Khan. “I didn’t have a lot of role models who looked like me growing up, and I’ve often walked quite a lonely road, so to be able to serve as a role model for future learners is a huge privilege.”
The Explorers Family Festival runs on Saturday 24 June from 12noon to 6pm. More information and tickets to the free event can be found here at this link.