An understanding of science and reading are profoundly important for our society.

Carl Sagan once said:

“Science is more than a body of knowledge. It's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility.

If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan political or religious who comes ambling along.”

Science is shaping society, and women, who make up 50% of the population, are under-represented.

Even if girls don’t want to pursue a career in science, they still need to understand how it works so they can make informed decisions about what we do and don’t do with it.

There is so much written on the importance of literacy; for education, employment, democracy, inclusivity and more

Sadly average, boys tend to fall behind girls in reading skills starting in elementary school and continuing through high school.

This gender gap in reading skills has been observed in many countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

There are various contributing factors. Boys may simply be less interested in reading than girls, or they suffer gender based biases e.g. being encouraged to prefer playing video games or participating in sports.

This is common as many boys are socialized differently from girls and receive less encouragement to read.

There are many strategies that can be used to support boys' literacy development.

These may include providing books and materials that are of interest to boys plus incorporating more hands-on and experiential learning activities.

This is why Kate Witch has been designed this way.

To overcome a variety of biases suffered by both girls and boys.

Fantasy fictions are appealing to girls and we know they love roll-playing. Kate Witch allows them to learn science while pretending to be little witches.

Many boys love hands on, technical things. By combining projects with reading draw them into the world of literacy.

Of course generalisations only work so far. That's why Kate Witch is very flexible & simple.