Alexia has declared her disappointment in Science Week’s carrot-dangling approach to spread awareness of science by encouraging Irish bloggers to write about inventions. Let me just preface this by saying: I like carrots. I would like to win a free Nintendo Wii, I am just a bit too lazy to think of an invention that I like. But like Alexia, I would rather see the ScienceWeek guys put their money to slightly better use. Engaging the bloggers is a good idea – it does create a positive buzz, and if 50 Irish bloggers each get ~800 unique visitors per day, then that is good value for advertising. But this is a temporary buzz that lasts a week, and at best, a few people walk away knowing a little bit more about the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, with no greater appreciation for science.
To really leverage the power of the network of Irish bloggers, there are much more valuable questions that you can ask. For example, “How can we bring science teaching into the 21st Century?” or “How can we rid ourselves of the growing apathy among Irish people towards science and technology?”
Naturally, it begins in the class room. The most exciting science experiment I ever did in Ireland was dabbing a drop of iodine on a potato and watching it turn black. “WOW that means it has starch in it!”, I exclaimed. But, like the sudden cold, harsh taste of hydrochloric acid in your throat when you accidentally sip for too long on the pipette, my enthusiasm was jarred by cruel nostalgia, as I was reminded of the positive, hands-on approach to science in school in America, and all the things I learned and have never forgotten since.
Consider these experiments that I did in sixth grade in Massachusetts (just a few examples):
Ancient Egypt
“The Pyramid Pull”: studying the pyramids, we spent some time brainstorming how they got these huge 2-ton blocks up to the the sides of the pyramids. Is it really possible that they built ramps and had 20 guys dragging these things up with ropes? To prove the concept, the teacher brought in a huge wooden box, put half the class inside it while the other half, at the end of the rope, pulled the box up a 25 degree ramp. With a bit of maths, we worked out what it must have taken in Egypt.
We also built sundials and obelisks that could tell the time, and loads of other stuff.
Architecture:
“The Skyscraper Challenge”: split into small groups and build the tallest standing structure you can out of newspaper sheets rolled tightly into beams. Some people copped onto the fact that you need some triangles in there for extra strength.
Horticulture:
Dug a garden in the school courtyard, planted vegetables, watched them grow.
Figured out the conditions necessary for germination and growth by carrying out a load of concurrent experiments. e.g., I put a seed in a paper towel and it germinated.
Loads of other stuff too.
Bee-keeping:
Got a bee-hive for the class room (with a tunnel through the wall so the bees could go out into the courtyard). Fed and managed the hive, marked the queen, clipped her wings, harvested the honey.
Fish:
Got a saltwater fish tank. Figured out how to fill it. Went down to the beach for a day and caught (with our hands) ~12 species of fish and a couple of crabs and put them into the tank. Watched them fight it out among themselves for a few months. My pipefish didn’t last long.
In sixth class in Ireland, I don’t think we even did science.
I agree with Alexia, there is so much more that can be done to improve “the cold, heartless trudge through tomes of science”. I would still encourage you to get involved in the Science Week competitions. Even though they are not addressing the root cause of apathy among Irish people towards science and technology, it is a positive and entertaining theme springing up around the place, and any bit of a buzz is better than none at all.
