Science Is for Everyone, Kids Included!


Who can do science? If you answered anyone, then you would be correct! Throughout our childhood, we play with various outdoor materials to make the perfect "soup," or dig up the yard just because we needed to know what lies beneath the grass. Neuroscientist Beau Lotto is a firm believer and supporter of people of all ages getting involved with science through discovery. Beau brought his passion for discovery to 25 eight-to-ten-year-old children and encouraged them to come up with something that they wanted to know and understand about the world around them. In this case, the question involved the similarities between humans and bees.

In this TEDTalk, Beau Lotto and one of the youngest published scientists (Amy O'Toole) share their findings and their passion for learning. During the talk Beau also mentions that the teacher involved had difficulty coming to terms with the end product of the experiment being unknown.

How do you feel when your experiment results are unknown? How would you explain your acceptance of that uncertainty to someone not in your field of study?

What are you early memories of science in childhood?