Why is science important? website, By Alom Shaha Inspire article
Why is science important? “It helps us find out what on Earth is going on.” “It can lay the groundwork for a great career.” “It is our best chance for tomorrow.” “It provides us with opportunities and choices.” These and more statements can be found on Alom Shaha’s webpage, Why is…
Why is science important?
- “It helps us find out what on Earth is going on.”
- “It can lay the groundwork for a great career.”
- “It is our best chance for tomorrow.”
- “It provides us with opportunities and choices.”
These and more statements can be found on Alom Shaha’s webpage, Why is science important? (http://whyscience.co.uk).
Alom Shaha is a British school teacher who collects videos and blogs from scientists, science writers and science teachers with their very personal answers to his question, “Why is science important?”
As a teacher, Alom wants to convey to his students “that science is something worth doing for reasons beyond the need to pass exams”. On his webpage, there are videos, blogs and a documentary film in which he visits scientists at their workplaces and asks them “why is science important?”. Viewers can watch Alom talk to scientists in places such as Antarctica or JET, the biggest fusion reactor in the world. (Note that the video clips can take a while to load; switching off the high-definition version can help. There is a helpful note on the front page explaining how to do this.)
Maybe your next class could start with a short video of PhD student Rosie Coates showing what will happen if too much CO2 enters our oceans. Watch Francisco Diego with his space rock, which is older than our planet. Ponder with Chris Langley about why we need more mp3 players, or listen to Mark Lythgoe describing the excitement of trotting on ground where no one else has ever been before. Read about how science allows partly deaf scientist Laura Goodall to lead the life she does.
The website might inspire teachers and students to contribute, or even to produce their own collection of statements to explain “Why is science important?”