How do you interest children in science?

Chain them to the desk..everytime they complain or stop working on their homework, shock them with jumper cables attached to a car battery....have them keep notes on how long before they reach 100% on task study habits without complaint and create a graph to chart the upward progress of their gpa.....you can integrate a creative writing exercise as well by having them keep a journal about their feelings towards you......I hope this is helpful.

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Depends on the age of the child and the field of science you want to interest them in, but there are lots of ways to get them interested in things that relate to science without turning them off. I'm a big fan of hands on stuff. Trips to zoos, planetariums, etc...

With my kids, who are pretty young, putting everything in a bigger perspective interests them. They ask questions like, where does the sun go at night? Then I can explain to them about the solar system and how the earth rotates and all that.

Also, letting them discover things for themselves is huge in building the confidence they need to solve problems.

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Bear is a comedian. Ignore him.

Make it real. Find opportunities throughout the day, in real life situations, to point out the science to them.

For example:

When a small child asks why the sky is blue, give them the detailed explanation of color and light and refraction.

(Just Kidding - but that's a great one for seeing the looks on their faces)

Real Examples:

When spotting a bug / insect / creepy crawly discuss # of body sections, # of legs, etc.

When they drop something, take the opportunity to discuss gravity, Newton and his apple - just gear it towards their age.

Get them in the kitchen cooking and baking and talk about the different ingredients and what they do, where they come from. talk about acidity and alkalinity, mix vinegar with different things and see what happens. Have them measure liquids and solids using a clear glass measuring cup - add 1 cup water then add butter by the spoonfull until 2 cup mark is reached. Did it float? Sink? Take out the butter... does it equal 1 cup?

When driving, point out the clouds, shapes, fluffiness and color. Talk about the different kinds of clouds and what they mean about approaching weather.

Just a few ideas from what I did with our cubs. You have to make it real and make it apply to their life and level of understanding.

Tea

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Only reason,I ask is because I tried to give some children who were trick and treating some science things,only some people seem to think this will actually put them off science!

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squinney wrote:

Bear is a comedian. Ignore him.

Make it real. Find opportunities throughout the day, in real life situations, to point out the science to them.

For example:

When a small child asks why the sky is blue, give them the detailed explanation of color and light and refraction.

(Just Kidding - but that's a great one for seeing the looks on their faces)

Real Examples:

When spotting a bug / insect / creepy crawly discuss # of body sections, # of legs, etc.

When they drop something, take the opportunity to discuss gravity, Newton and his apple - just gear it towards their age.

Get them in the kitchen cooking and baking and talk about the different ingredients and what they do, where they come from. talk about acidity and alkalinity, mix vinegar with different things and see what happens. Have them measure liquids and solids using a clear glass measuring cup - add 1 cup water then add butter by the spoonfull until 2 cup mark is reached. Did it float? Sink? Take out the butter... does it equal 1 cup?

When driving, point out the clouds, shapes, fluffiness and color. Talk about the different kinds of clouds and what they mean about approaching weather.

Just a few ideas from what I did with our cubs. You have to make it real and make it apply to their life and level of understanding.

Tea

obviously squinney is not Laughing

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Badboy - They may not like it as much as candy, but I bet it lasts longer. Also, a lot of parents go through their kids bags before they are allowed to dig in, and the parents I imagine, will appreciate it and make sure the kids see / use it.

I would.

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Badboy wrote:

Only reason,I ask is because I tried to give some children who were trick and treating some science things,only some people seem to think this will actually put them off science!

What kind of things were they?

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That really made an impression on you, eh, Badboy? (Squinney, he has another thread on the subject, too.)

Squinney and FreeDuck have great ideas.

More generally, I just make a point of encouraging curiousity, period. That's the origin of science, IMO -- curiousity about the world. We say "that's a good question" a lot, and "what do you think?" Get her to guess at stuff. She loves to play detective, put together clues. She says "that makes sense" or "that doesn't make sense" a lot.

That's all science.

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That was me who said putting science phamplets in kid's trick or treat bags would turn them off to science instead of getting them interested in it.

I'm with soz - if you want kids to be interested encourage their curiosity and help them explore the world.

You might have captured their attention, and their parent's attention if you had put together a little "do it yourself" science experiment along with instructions.

We make hover crafts out of all the AOL junk mail discs - CD, balloon, dishwashing liquid squeeze cap.

Science!

A film can, a bean, a cotton ball.

Science!

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Bingo, soz. That's totally what I meant but did not articulate well at all.

My son likes to say 'that doesn't make any sense" too. Only he says things like, "you told me to go to bed, but that doesn't make any sense".

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My daughter is 9 years old and she loves science.
We've gone to the science museum, she has tons of
books pertaining to different science projects and
her godmother, who is a scientist, contributes her
share to it in a playful manner.

Of course, she still wants to be a Veterinarian Wink

but hey, there you'll learn a lot about science too.

badboy, one of my neighbors gives out apples on
Halloween and has great responses. Out of all the candies,
"little CJ" eats the apple first, and receiving a science
tool/toy would be bliss for her.

So, don't listen to the others, do as you wish. Chances
are, the kids are playing with your give-away
right now as the the Halloween candy are long gone Wink

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Oh, that reminds me. For anyone who lives anywhere near Atlanta, they have the best Children's Museum. If I lived in the area I'd pay as much as I could afford for a membership there. A totally inspiring place for kids and their parents.