There seems
to be a general apathy toward science these days. People seem to think that science is only
important for a small fraction of the population. Middle school students may think that science is
boring and doesn’t affect them. Contrary
to this popular attitude, science is all around us and affects us all. Science answers the questions such as “Why is
the sky blue?”, “How do birds fly?” and “How do we get energy from the sun?”. Science is working toward answering questions
like, “How do we predict when the next earthquake is going to rock our world?” “How
do we deal with the extra flooding and other severe weather events that are
occurring due to climate change?”, “Does extraterrestrial life exist?” and “If
we travel through a spinning black hole, do we end up in another universe?”
Speaking of
astrophysics, Stephen Hawking is warning us that, as humans, our own
technological advances will be our downfall during the next one hundred years
or so. He implores us to make good
choices and control the dangers associated with the inevitable technological advances.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35344664
Even if you are not one of the people who will solve
these problems, you still need a basic understanding of science and
technology. Most likely you will
encounter STEM in your field of choice even if you don’t realize it now. It is
also important for you to have a basic understanding of science and technology
to be able to vote wisely. A democracy
is only as good as its constituency!
Let’s say
you are into sports and not into science or voting. Don’t forget that people who understand
physics will excel in sports. If you are
a skateboarder, you will want to understand where your center of mass is and
what forces are acting on you and your board. http://www.exploratorium.edu/skateboarding/trick.html If you’re a baseball or softball player, you
may want to know why it’s important to find the sweet spot on the bat or how to
improve your curveball and science can help you with that! http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/index.html
Or maybe you
are into fashion design or want to be a make-up artist. As a fashion designer, you will want to know
how gabardine was made to be an untearable and weatherproof fabric and how silk
is made. Knowledge of science may
inspire you to create a purse that will charge your phone using solar energy or
a dress that is pink indoors but changes colors with sunshine or water. http://www.rainbowwinters.com/springsummer2011.html
As a make-up artist, you will need to know which type of product to use
on oily skin versus dry skin and why. https://student.societyforscience.org/article/makeup-science
Many
students who participated in the STEM program at Haller last year found that
STEM can be fun and interesting. Here’s
what they had to say…
“It is
really cool to see your end result of the STEM project and the project is
really fun.”
“I learned a
lot about solar energy and how to manage my time wisely.”
When asked
what they would change about the STEM project, one student replied, “NOTHING, I
really enjoyed it!”
This month
the students are working on solving some of our current issues and are starting
to get excited about their projects. Students
are working on developing a prototype of an engineered solution to help solve a
problem they found while researching their topic.
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A couple of students
are developing a better dike to protect against severe weather events.
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One group of students
is working on a water purification project and are trying to figure out a way
to purify salt water.
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| This is the initial design for their project, but they have since made modifications to the heat source and the container. |
Please don’t
be apathetic about science. It explains
our world and gives us hope for our future generations.
