I recently stepped in on a planning session between Professor Mark Watson and the Community and Education Coordinator of Lexington’s Explorium, Katherine Shaw.  Preparing for the Explorium’s second annual week-long Chemistry Summer Camp, Watson and Shaw talked lightheartedly about what gets young kids excited about learning about concepts such as viscosity, electrolysis and recrystalization.  They both agreed (without a doubt) that science really is fun for young kids. The challenge is keeping third and fourth graders engaged throughout their academic career. “We do not have to build an interest in science, just not squash it,” Watson said. 

As the kids competed with experiments that require slimy tadpoles and growing fish, Watson shared a few lessons he has learned as an educator and a father. According to his experiences, building a strong foundation in science learning in a field in desperate need of bright young minds starts with a few basic principles.

So, what works?

1)    Be a Resource – Let the Students Teach Themselves

Although at the college level Watson will lecture for an hour at a time, he provides little initial instruction to his students at the Explorium. Why? He wants students to figure things out for themselves.  Although he does not provide demonstrations for students before the experiment begins, he doesbelieve in asking engaging questions: Do microwaves really heat things up?  How do we distinguish between acids and bases? According to Watson, interesting questions provide enough incentive for these students to really dig in and conduct the experiments.  Once students are engaged, Watson is present to provide guidance.  By using this method, Watson believes students are forced to ask the questions, troubleshoot and find out what works.

2)    Keep It Hands-On

Early in our conversation, Watson told me, “Kids are tickled to handle real things. Give them a pipette and they really get excited.” He said that one of his favorite experiments teaches the concept of viscosity. “Everyone gets involved,” he said.  “In this experiment, one student controls the stop watch while another student pours the liquids. At the same time, other group members take notes and record observations.”  He feels that by all students participating, they can see first-hand viscosity in action and experience the rewarding aspect of asking a question and finding a testable way to answer that question.

3)    Science is Competitive

“Scientists are always looking for a better way to explain things,” Watson informed me during our conversation. On the first day of the summer camp, Watson asks his students to do an experiment a few different ways.  By doing so, he hopes they can see that there is more than one method of designing an experiment and there is always room for improvement. He often tells his young students that “scientists are competitive.”  He believes it is important for children to realize they can always make experiments better, and that in order to become a distinguished scientist, it is important to not only want to be competitive, but to also seek repetition, be creative, and develop new, innovative methods.

4)    Make Concepts Real

Watson recalled a time during one of his workshops when he was trying to convey to students how small molecules are: “I asked them if they remembered the last time they smelled something funny, a dirty sock, etc.”  He continued, “I told them that these were molecules going up their nose. They were actually smelling molecules. Molecules are so small you can’t see them, but they can certainly find their way into your nose. You should have seen their faces when they thought about the last bad odor they smelled.”  Students can relate to concepts much easier when they become approachable and meaningful.

5)    Science is a Process

When Watson first started doing workshops at the Explorium, he would hold a session for an hour or two at a time.  However, he found that this was not enough time to capture students' attention.  As groups of children came to the Explorium, they only had a few hours to explore the entire center, and only a few minutes to stop by Watson’s demonstrations.  The development of the week-long camp was important for Watson’s mission and making his work effective. “It becomes more of a concentrated effort. On the first day of camp last year, all we did was teach the scientific method.  We taught the basics of recording data, accounting for experimental error and taking the average. Not all kids know what an average is. Katherine also made sure that the kids kept a detailed notebook,” Watson said, “After a week of doing this kind of stuff, their notes are really incredible. They really knew how to do science.”

To find out more about the camps, visit http://explorium.com/