Why should parents allow their kids to bang on pots and pans and jump into puddles? Because Science.
That’s according to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson during an appearance at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. When a pigtailed young girl from the audience asked the brilliant scientist, “How can first graders help the earth?” Dr. Tyson responded in a way that’s sure to inspire in her a lifetime of love for science (even if mom or dad might initially disapprove).
Tyson: “When I was in first grade, I was curious about a lot of things. So here’s what I want you to do. When you go home, and you start poking around the kitchen. Have you ever opened the cabinets and pulled out the pots and pans and started banging on them?…Did your parents stop you? Tell them to not stop you.”
“Because you’re just being a kid and you like to explore things. And your parents don’t like it because it gets the pots and pans dirty and because it’s noisy. But for you it’s fun and you’re actually doing experiments: What does the wooden spoon sound like on the aluminum pot or the metal ladle sound like on the steel pot? And they all make different sounds, and it’s fun, right?”
“Okay, another thing — if it’s raining out, and there’s a big puddle — what do you want to do with that puddle?
Girl: Jump in it.
Tyson: You wanna jump in it, and so do your parents let you jump in it?
Girl: Ya — no.
Dr. Tyson goes on to explain that jumping in puddles is a science experiment because you’re creating a splash crater.
So kids, the next time you get in trouble for making a lot of noise or a big mess, just tell your parents that Neil deGrasse Tyson made you do it.
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Tag: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Here’s the Difference Between Weather and Climate
As we’ve said before, there’s really no debate whether or not climate change is real. Despite the scientific consensus, however, some people still aren’t quite convinced that the planet is getting hotter. “If global warming is real,” a climate-skeptic might wonder, “why was I huddled under blankets until March?”
Well, if you watch this video from National Geographic, astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson elegantly shuts down that argument in two minutes.
With the help of an enthusiastic dog, he illustrates that weather and climate change are measured in completely ways.
MORE: These Scientists Were Fed Up with Climate Change Deniers. Here’s What They Did About It
“Here’s the difference between weather and climate,” Tyson says as he and his furry friend walk along the beach. “Weather is what the atmosphere does in the short term, day to day. Climate is the long-term average of the weather over a number of years.” He points out that dog’s restless wandering represents the daily fluctuation of weather, while he, walking in a steady forward pace, is the long-term trend of climate.
“Weather is hard to predict, like my friend here,” he says about the wandering pup. “But climate is predictable. Climate has changed many times in the long history of the Earth — but always in response to a global force.” By the way, that “force” is the increase in carbon dioxide from our burning of fossil fuels.
ALSO: Would Your State Survive a Climate Change Catastrophe?
We explained in a previous post that as we continue driving our cars and burning fuel at factories and power plants, CO2 gets released into the atmosphere as “blocks” like in the game of Tetris (also known as the greenhouse effect). And just like the video game, if we can’t clear up these CO2 blocks, they’ll just build up faster and faster until it’s game over.
It’s a bit doomsday, but it’s the hard truth. But we suppose climate-skeptics don’t need to worry about the future of the planet in its fight against climate change. After all, as Tyson said, the earth will survive — only we won’t.
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This Astronomy Program Encourages Minority Students to Be Science Stars
A program at the City University of New York is trying to change the face of astronomy — literally.
As NPR reports, the AstroCom NYC program encourages low-income and underrepresented CUNY (City University of New York) students to study the sciences. This program, now in its second year, assists these students by providing scholarships, personalized mentoring, involvement with real astrophysics research, career guidance, fellowship opportunities, and support for travel to observatories and conferences around the world. They even throw in a free laptop and a MetroCard for NYC transportation.
The goal is to help these scholars “build a sense of belonging in the field, and inspires and prepares them for graduate study,” the AstroCom NYC website states.
MORE: When People Said Minorities Weren’t Interested in Science, This Guy Proved Them Wrong
Scientific and technological minds are key to our nation’s growth, and we need all hands on deck to move forward. NPR notes that even though the country’s most famous astronomer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, is African-American, there is still a real lack of role models in the field. The report states in the past decade, only two percent of all the students earning doctorates in astronomy and physics fields were either black or Hispanic Americans.
The reason why there is this lack of representation is frustratingly clear. For low-income minority students, there is the devastating barrier of not being able to afford the years of advanced education that science degrees require.
Hopefully, programs like AstroCom NYC will help break this cycle and help bring the universe to more fingertips.