A teenager tells us how to get young people interested in science. "Show them the real thing."
On the last page of the February 2008 issue of Sky and Telescope Magazine, an article by Gil McFarlane describes a telescope project by his teenage daughter, Gina. She built a 3 inch telescope and showed her peers the planet Saturn. She then showed them the much more detailed Hubble Space Telescope pictures of Saturn and asked which they preferred.
The teenagers overwhelmingly preferred the real thing through a homemade 3 inch telescope to a picture through the Hubble. The real thing always beats pictures. Gina's conclusion: "If you want young people to become more interested in astronomy, show them the real thing."
Science educators, myself included, should listen to Gina. This principle doesn't just apply to astronomy. Kids can learn about various flora and fauna by reading a stuffy textbook. They will however become much more excited about biology if they go outside to observe real plants and animals. In geology or earth science classes, collecting and handling real rocks will do much more than reading a text.
Including real experiments and demonstrations, even those done with simple equipment, in a physics class will make physics much more exciting to students. Elaborate computer simulations or complex equations can illustrate important points, but students need to get their hands on real experiments.
Too few young people study science, at least in part, because they perceive science as both hard and rather dull. Making science come alive for students will help interest more young people in science. Science teachers and parents, follow Gina's advice. Show them the real thing!
Thanks for the reminder, Gina.
