Science At Large

Kids who see how they affect science and how science impacts them have a greater understanding of the world.

October 2007

By Holly O'Dell

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October 2007 Special Sections

Think of scientific learning as a chain reaction.

Nurturing curiosity introduces children to science, which in turn makes them want to learn more.

Experimentation creates new opportunities for discovery. And discovery helps explain science’s broader impact on our lives.

Two simple questions can help encourage kids toward deeper inquiry: pick an object and ask where it came from and what people did before it was invented. The possibilities are endless—eyeglasses, toothbrushes, shoes, vehicle airbags, cell phones—and the answers fascinating.

Perhaps the best way to get children thinking about the role of science is to talk about how it affects them and how they affect it.

Recycling is a good example. “If you just say ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ to your children, they can parrot that back, but that’s not really science,” says Kirsten Ellenbogen of the Science Museum of Minnesota. “The more you help children understand not just what we recycle, but why we do it and how we decided that it was a good thing to do, the more you engage them in science.”

Everyday habits provide plenty of prospects for exploring the impact of science. Ask your children why they think you want them to wear sunscreen when they’re outdoors. Why don’t plants or animals have to wear sunblock, but people do? What does SPF mean? Does your sunscreen come off in the water—why or why not? What is a UV ray? What can happen to your skin if you don’t wear sunscreen? Is just your skin affected? How do doctors treat skin cancer and does sunscreen prevent its occurrence?

Or devise a way to gauge how much water your children use each time they brush their teeth. Do they leave the water run while they brush? What happens if they turned off the faucet? How much water would that save over the course of a day? Month? Year? How does one person’s teeth-brushing habit affect the planet?

It helps when kids can put a human face to science. When Clark Erickson, science specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education, was a teacher, one of his students was captivated by the story of a scientist who emigrated from China. “I suggested we call the scientist,” Erickson says. “The student had an alarmed look on her face, as if she wondered whether we could actually do that. But we now have more chances than ever to connect with people all over the world.”

When kids piece together how science impacts their daily lives, science becomes less daunting. They begin to ask questions without prompting by mom or dad. They grasp scientific applications at work in the world today and wonder how things will function in the future. They take initiative to conduct experiments of their own. They use deductive reasoning. Even if they don’t pursue a career in science, engineering, or technology as adults, chances are they will use scientific concepts and principles in their chosen field. They’ll truly understand why science matters, a principle that will guide them through the rest of their lives.

More Ways To Explore
Good to Grow	Colorful Blooms	Kitchen Compost
Can your child predict environmental impact? Help her fill four cups (labeled “A,” “B,” “C,” “D”) with soil, poke two bean seeds one-inch deep in each, water to keep soil moist until seedlings emerge. Once all four cups show seedlings, have your child tend “A” with normal watering, give plant “B” slightly salty water, and give plant “C” too much water. Don’t give plant “D” any water. What happens to each plant? Explore your child’s confusion when some plants die. Have her imagine these plants as part of a garden with similar conditions. Talk about what changes soil (chemicals, air, construction, rain) and how this can mean the difference between food on our plate and failed crops.	Can your child transform a white carnation into a two-color flower? Take a light-colored flower (carnations work great), and split the stem. Have him place one of the split stems in a glass of water with a little blue food coloring and the other in a glass of water with red food coloring. Check on the flowers over the next couple hours as the stem soaks up the water and the color changes the bloom. Talk about how quickly the plant takes water up the stem against the force of gravity using capillary action—tiny fibers inside the stem create a lattice that help push molecules of water up to the top. You can also take the bottom end off a wilted stalk of celery, place it in colored water and watch the stalk change color and shape as it becomes crisp again.	Can your child feed the garden instead of the trash? Have him line a simple container with recycled plastic bag (to cinch off the smell) and place it by the kitchen sink. When preparing and cleaning up after meals, help your child collect in the container biodegradable waste—scraps of fruit and vegetables, bread, cereal, egg shells. Talk about the things (meat scraps, cheese, oily foods, paper, and packaging) that need to be discarded in the trash and how plastics, glass, and cans can be recycled. After a couple of days, talk about how the scraps can break down and help the garden. Help him dig a hole in the garden (at least eight inches) for the scraps. Also, come up with a plan to create less trash each week.

Classroom Initiative

Minnesota hopes to be a leader in helping students better understand the environment through a new initiative called We 3—We Learn, We Save, We Win. The Minnesota Environmental Education Advisory Board program (still in the planning stages but with a rollout targeted in the next two years) is designed to teach students of all ages the science behind everyday environmental and health issues, and help them turn that knowledge into action. Testing asthma and allergy triggers in their classroom, for example, they’ll also find ways to improve the air quality. “The emphasis is on the ‘we,’” says Clark Erickson, science specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education. “We are all in this together.”

For updates on We 3, check seek.state.mn.us.