Real Science

"Am I a scientist?" my daughter asks for the umpteenth time. I always say, "Of course." If she is busy digging up the yard looking for fossils, I will tell her she is a paleontologist. If she is watching bugs then she is an entomologist and so on. Sometimes, she tells me about fellow students who have expressed their disbelief that she is a scientist and so I launch into a lecture about how science is not just a job but is a way of thinking. Many discoveries have been made by people that were not being paid to be scientists. I think this lecture has become as familiar and as comforting to her as a favorite bedtime story.

I have to admit to being a bit disturbed at how many times my daughter has reported the doubts of her peer group. This means that by kindergarten, children have already received the message that what they do is not significant. Somehow, their observations are not "real". Edward O. Wilson began studying insects when he was seven. His observations of ant behavior are what led him to be a leading Biologist. I have to wonder what would have happened to the study of Animal Behavior if society had made it clear to a young E. O. Wilson that he was NOT a scientist. Famous naturalist John Muir was mostly employed on ranches and sheep farms. He kept very thorough journals about his explorations that have been indispensable to the study of Ecology. Thank goodness he didn't wait to do science until he was a scientist!

Actually, I am not even sure that we grown-ups have even portrayed scientists as real people to kids. Once, a student was shocked when he saw what a colleague of mine was wearing under her labcoat. "You're not a real scientist!" he exclaimed, "You have clothes on under your labcoat!" When my colleague asked the child if scientists were suposed to be naked under their labcoats, he laughed and said, "Of course not!" But really, what are the other options? I suppose that he never really considered that the labcoats come off!

So what is science? Science is asking questions and then using observations and experiments to find the answers. When my son first discovered the shiny handle on the potty and then flushed it again and again, that was science. When I was going to have my first baby, I knew almost nothing about cloth diapers. So, I ordered samples of various styles and then got out my measuring cups and paper towels and started pouring the water. My husband thought I had gone crazy when he came home from work and saw me measuring wet spots on papertowels at a diaper filled table. When I told that story to some other moms at playgroup, I noticed another mom's stunned look. I thought she shared my husband's opinion but then she said, "Why didn't I think of that?" I don't know, maybe somebody told her she wasn't a scientist. I can not say that anyone ever paid me for my absorbency data. But I can say that years later when I used those same notes to pick out diapers for my son, we did not have a single overnight diaper leak. And that my friends, is real science.

So, get out and do some real science! There are a couple of great projects going on that rely on citizen data. Project BudBurst is tracking the affects of climate change on plants and needs people to report their observations on everything from falling leaves to blooming flowers. Project Feederwatch uses citizen observations at the birdfeeder to keep tabs on our feathered friends. Project Feederwatch does have a $15 fee but sends a great pack of education materials that includes an identification chart and report forms. You can find both websites by a keyword search. These are both great opportunities to add some excitement to math and reading activities, as well as making your favorite kids feel proud of being real scientists. Labcoats are optional!