Reading About Science is Boring, Doing Science is Fun!

By Maria Anna van Driel, www.nexttruth.com

Irrespectively our age, we are all curious about something. And, while being in the process of exploring the plausible answers, we are firing an equal amount of questions at our mentors after, for instance, watching a documentary, tinkering with your moped, attending a lecture or reading a book in the library.

And even though knowing the basics in needed for young people to become an expert in their field of interest, what is really important is how we, as mentors, motivate their curious minds. How do we inspire and let their minds set off on going on an adventurous voyage of discovery?

Investigating the questions that matter to us by physically doing something to learn requires an investigative mind what sets young people off on a voyage of discovery. Photo credit: The Next Truth

Science as a creative quest

The expression “hands-on learning” (aka experiential learning) summarizes the philosophy that students of all ages will learn best if they are actively engaged and if their activities are closely linked to understanding important scientific concepts.

This way of artistic learning, what is involving ones imagination and original ideas, is, without a doubt, an enrichment to an evolutionary process of contemporary science as well as it is giving wings to the brilliant minds of our future scientists. It is a fun and creative way of teaching our future scientists to become comfortable with the scientific method: explore the asked question by theorizing, experimenting, theorizing and experimenting again and, writing a conclusion.

Still, too many kids think that science is a body of knowledge, a collection of facts they need to memorize. But, less is true! Have you ever watch a chemist work in his or her lab or, how a biologist is collecting data?

In the quest to make sense of the natural world, scientists are not always reading huge books containing a complex content, writing essays or creating technical tutorials, they think of new ways to approach problems, figure out how to collect meaningful data and explore what those data could mean.

My son presenting his DNA-model with enthusiasm and pride what he has made in a school project (biology). Photo credit: The Next Truth

Science and art, even though their methods have different traditions, in many cases, their basic motivations and goals are fundamentally the same and representing human attempts to explore, understand and describe the natural world around us in an effort to find universal, indisputable truths.

So, regardless your age, gender, country of birth or the scientific topic what is grabbing your attention the most, “Hands-on-Science” is one of the most fun and creative way to learn while exploring those nagging questions. What did dinosaurs eat? What is the universe made of? Why do we dream? What is DNA doing?

Young people, they are indeed the generation capable of making a scientific shift by applying incredible novelties to contemporary science!