Lucy Hawking facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucy Hawking
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Hawking at NASA in 2008
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| Born |
Catherine Lucy Hawking
2 November 1970 England
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford City University of London |
| Occupation | |
| Organization | National Star College |
| Spouse(s) |
Alex Smith
(m. 1998; div. 2004) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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Lucy Hawking, born on November 2, 1970, is an English writer, journalist, and educator. She is well-known for writing exciting science adventure books for kids. Lucy is the daughter of the famous scientist Stephen Hawking and writer Jane Wilde Hawking. She lives in London and works to help young people learn about science.
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Early Life and School
Lucy Hawking was born in 1970. Her parents were Stephen Hawking, a brilliant scientist, and Jane Wilde Hawking, an author. Lucy has two brothers, Robert and Timothy. She grew up in Cambridge, England, after living in California for a few years as a child. She went to the Stephen Perse Foundation school.
As she got older, Lucy helped care for her father. His health was declining because of a condition called motor neurone disease.
Lucy studied French and Russian at the University of Oxford. During her time at university, she spent some time in Moscow to improve her Russian. After finishing her degree, she studied international journalism at City University of London. She decided not to become a full-time journalist. However, she found that journalism helped her practice her writing skills. This experience was a good way for her to start her writing career.
Career as a Writer and Educator
After university, Lucy Hawking worked as a journalist for a while. She wrote for several well-known magazines and newspapers. These included New York magazine, the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Times, the London Evening Standard, and The Guardian. She also worked as a radio journalist.
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Lucy always wanted to be an author. Her first two novels for adults were Jaded (published in 2004) and Run for Your Life (published in 2005). This second book was also known as The Accidental Marathon.
A few years later, she started writing books for children. In 2007, she released George's Secret Key to the Universe. This book is an adventure story about a boy named George. He finds a special way to travel through a computer portal and explore the Solar System. Lucy wrote this book with her father, Stephen Hawking, and his former student, Christophe Galfard.
George's Secret Key to the Universe became very popular. It has been translated into 38 languages and sold in 43 countries. Lucy has written five more books in the George series:
- George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt (2009)
- George and the Big Bang (2011)
- George and the Unbreakable Code (2014)
- George and the Blue Moon (2016)
- George and the Ship of Time (2018)
In 2015, Lucy Hawking and a British publisher called Curved House Kids received money from the UK Space Agency. This funding was for an education project. It was part of astronaut Tim Peake's efforts to teach people about space. The project resulted in the Principia Space Diary. This diary was created with Kristen Harrison and had help from Professor Peter McOwan. Over 60,000 students in the UK used it. It was even nominated for an award for excellence in space education.
All of Lucy Hawking's books and articles focus on teaching science to children. She became interested in this after her son's friend asked her father about black holes. Her father joked that the boy would "turn into spaghetti", and the boy loved the answer. This made Lucy realize that using fun methods, like adventure stories, can help kids learn about science. She believes this is important for the new generation.
She also appeared on a podcast called "Hawking—A Literal Genius." On the podcast, she talked about her father and his amazing achievements.
Awards and Recognition
Lucy Hawking has received several awards and honors for her work.
- In April 2008, she gave a talk at NASA's 50th birthday celebration. She spoke about children and science education. She shared her experiences from traveling the world with George's Secret Key and giving talks about physics and astronomy to kids. Her lecture showed how important it is to get children interested in science early on.
- A few months later, she won a Sapio Prize. This is an Italian award for researchers who popularize science around the world.
- In 2010, Arizona State University chose Lucy Hawking as a writer-in-residence for its 2011 Origins Project. This meant she would be a visiting writer there.
- In 2013, Lucy spoke at the BrainSTEM: Your Future is Now festival. This event took place at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada.
- In March 2017, she was invited to speak at the Emirates Airline Festival in Dubai.
- In June 2017, the Amsterdam News Educational Foundation honored Lucy. They recognized her and two other women who were making progress in science.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Lucy Hawking is involved in helping many people. She is the vice president of the National Star College. This college helps people with disabilities reach their full potential. It offers special learning, transition, and lifestyle services. It provides care and education for young adults with complex disabilities. Lucy is also a trustee for the Autism Research Trust. This organization supports research into autism.
Personal Life
Lucy Hawking married Alex Mackenzie Smith in 1998. They later divorced in 2004. She has one son. Her son has autism, and this has inspired her to support people on the autistic spectrum.
See also
In Spanish: Lucy Hawking para niños
