Helene Rother revolutionized the auto industry in the 1940’s with her consideration of design and comfort. She was an immigrant and a pioneering woman in STEAM.  Students can learn her story with Helene Rother: Automotive Design Pioneer. 

• Story: Silo and Kerra Chamberlain, Arvada High School (Arvada, CO) 
• Art: Scorpio Steele
• Lettering: R. Alan Brooks 

Estimated Lexile Levels: 

• Comic: 1010 – 1200 
• Endnotes: 1010 – 1200 

Projects and discussion questions are aligned to Common Core standards for grades 8-10.  

Born in Leipzig, Germany in 1908, Rother’s journey showcases the intersection of talent, determination, and innovation. Her story unfolds within a male-dominated automotive world where she rose to prominence with her artistic vision and design process, forever changing how it felt to be inside an automobile.  

Discussion questions in the teaching guide (included in the download) provide further talking points around these topics and prompt students to think critically about the comic’s content and consider the struggles Helene may have encountered as a refugee and woman in the American workplace.  

 Using the project ideas featured in this guide, students can:  

• Research women in STEAM 
• Create proposals for product innovations that reach untapped markets  
• Analyze the claims and rhetoric in Helene’s address to the Society of Automotive Engineers  
• Visualize their futures accomplishments by writing speeches in the style of Helene’s