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She was right. I don’t know exactly what it was that made me have that opinion of science. I was always curious as a kid. I loved mysteries and trying to figure things out. But I don’t think I’d realized what “science” was prior to that program in third grade. Science was memorizing names--parts of the flower, phases of the moon, planets of the solar system. I was good at memorization, but it wasn’t exciting. What I learned over those weeks was that science was also experimentation. Science was finding out about the world around us. Science was *fun.* Now I am a scientist and a parent. Obviously, I still think that science is fun. I enjoy my role as a researcher and teacher. And while I may formally teach graduate students, many of my most enjoyable teaching moments come when I’m teaching my children about science. First off, I think it’s important to be matter-of-fact about science—what it is, and what it isn’t. It’s not something that has to be difficult, or should be confined only to the super-smart. Too many people think it's inaccessible, or think you have to understand the nuances of quantum physics to have an interest in astronomy. I wish more people realized science is so much more than a bunch of equations, but simply a way of examining and understanding our world. We can start this with our children. Kids are naturally curious, so it's easy to take advantage of their "why" questions and to help them learn how to find things out for themselves through observation and experimentation (i.e. the essence of science). Any parent can take advantage of the resources around them, even if they’re not particularly science-educated themselves. I’m a biologist, so obviously my bias is to life science. However, one needn’t have a degree in biology to foster curiosity about, for example, animals. My kids and I spend all kinds of time just watching and collecting things. My daughter loves all things creepy-crawly, and we’ve had several insects and arachnids as “pets.” We also have a great natural history museum in town, and a local raptor refuge where they treat injured birds of prey and house the ones who can't go back out into the wild. There’s nothing like a day there to discuss evolution--coloration, feather shape, claws, size of the birds, and how they came to be that way. After a discussion and some background, you can then stretching their minds by asking about a new bird, "look at this one's beak. What do you think it eats?" It’s not important to get a “right” answer. What’s important is helping kids develop the thinking processes that allow them to go from observation (this bird has a sharp hooked beak and eats meat) to hypothesis generation (this new bird also has a sharp hooked beak, I bet it eats meat as well). This is the essence of science and its most important part. Anyone can memorize facts, but to gain a real understanding of the world around us, we need to take that information and apply it to new areas. A number of hands-on experiments can also be easy for parents in addition to being a great learning experience for kids. I’m an absolute brown thumb, so plant experiments don’t work for me (unless we’re trying to find out new and creative ways to kill them), but for anyone who is good with plants, these can be an easy way to teach kids about experimentation. Grab a few pots and some identical plants (or plant clippings, or seeds, etc.) Vary the conditions the plants are grown under—perhaps changing how one set is watered, or the fertilizer it’s given or the amount of light it receives. (For simplicity’s sack, adjust only one variable is best). Ask your child to formulate a hypothesis (such as, “I expect that the plants given fertilizer will grow taller than the ones not receiving it,”), and test it by keeping careful measurements of the growth of the plants. Be sure to record any other observations (does one seem to be a bit brown or on the sickly side? Write it down). You can also use this type of experiment to teach your kids how to make simple graphs and charts. If living animals aren’t your thing, then how about fossils? My parents had a giant chunk of limestone in their backyard. For a project in fourth grade, I identified 25 or so different fossils embedded in the rock. All it took was a fossil book and my time. By doing so, I was able to learn about the environment of that area millions of years ago, during the time when the fossilized creatures were living. It didn’t take much time or effort to find out a huge amount of information about the past—science that one even without a science background could do. Chemistry and physics can also be easy and fun to teach. Find a tall place—even a second-story window can suffice—and design parachutes or protective containers to drop eggs or water balloons. Let your kids formulate a hypothesis—“I think this type will work best”—and then test it. Were they right? Why did/didn’t their idea work? How would they refine their design? Especially for young kids, these kinds of experiments don’t have to be anything elaborate. In her kindergarten class, my daughter is currently learning about wood and buoyancy. Why does wood float? How many paper clips can they place upon a thin square of different types of wood in order to make them sink? She’s fascinated by it, and all it took on the teacher’s part was a trip to the Home Depot to get some scrap wood pieces, a box of paper clips, and some bowls for water. Science—even experimental science--doesn’t have to be difficult. Things that explode are also often a big hit. I recently described an experiment using Mentos candy and soda. When the candies are added to the 2-liter bottle, a jet of soda explodes out the top. Here at The Disgruntled Chemist they document experiments with different types of candies and soda. These are easy to replicate, and can teach your child a lot about how scientists do science—hypothesize, take careful observations, analyze the data—skills that will benefit them no matter what path they choose in life. And of course, the tried-and-true baking soda volcano is another classic. Too often, I think, experiments like this are held back for science fairs or other “formal” science venues. This makes science into a chore—just more homework, even though the experiments may be fun. By making science a part of your kids’ everyday world, you can actively counter this “ugh, I have to do a science project for class; woe is me” attitude. Finally, no one can know everything about everything. Don’t be afraid to say to your kids, “that’s an excellent question, and I don’t know the answer.” This, again, can be a great teaching tool. Show them how to research the answer to a question. Take them to the library or search the internet together. Learning about science can be a fun family activity. Sure, some friends and relatives might think you’re a little strange, but they probably already think that anyway. Shrug them off and take your kids out to buy some Mentos and soda, and have a good time. Some other
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