Who fits the bill perfectly? Kids!Īfter conversations with colleagues, she came up with the idea of using Skype to reach classrooms of students outside of the range where scientists usually congregate (large cities and universities). If the problem is trying to change the public perception of scientists from aloof and insular to trustworthy and approachable, you need to start by finding people who have a lot of questions, and few pre-existing prejudices. But posting things on tumblr is like preaching to the choir – your audience tends to be people who are already interested in your subject. Sarah McAnulty, a PhD student at the University of Connecticut who studies the immune system of bob tail squid, had already been engaging in informal science communication through a profile on tumblr. During the 2016 USA election cycle, it became apparent that many people in this country distrust scientists. The next day, I did it all again, and Skyped in to a classroom in British Columbia, to field questions about gray whales, right whales and science careers from a group of enthusiastic 5 th and 6 th grade students.Ī class of Australian 4th graders had many imaginative questions for me through the Skype a Scientist Program.īut how in the world did I end up answering questions over Skype for a classroom full of kids in the first place? Like many good things, it began with a conversation.

We had an hour-long conversation about gray whale behaviors, habitat, life cycle, and general biology – all thanks to the wonders of science, technology and the computer program, Skype. It was 2:00pm on a Tuesday here in Newport, OR, while in Australia, this classroom full of students was sitting in their 9:00am Wednesday science class.

They are studying biodiversity and were very curious to meet a real life scientist. These are the questions 4 th grade students half a world away asked me. Gray Whale Individual Behavior and Body Conditionĭoes the mom whale take care of the baby whale alone?.

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