We need to make ‘hard’ sciences fun and approachable

I was just having a casual discussion with an undergrad student about science communication, and she brought it up that ‘hard’ sciences scare her. It does not seem like fun.
“People are not interested in science”. No that’s not true. Psychology is one of the most popular majors in US. Many other social science majors are very popular as well. But, we see the enrollment rates of women in STEM areas quite low except in biological sciences.
We need more women in STEM. One of the reasons we have less women in STEM is because the barrier to entry in STEM is very high. So, it does not seem encouraging for a new entrant. Instead of making science seem fun, we have created a culture where people are scared of it.
I am a firm believer in Einstein’s quote:
“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
We should be able to explain complex concepts easily.
Dos:
- Encourage questions: There is no stupid or dumb question
- Encourage curiosity: A child is curious about things all around her. So, dovetail to science. Why is the sky blue ? Why are leaves green ? These are simple questions but we need to make them understand that.
- Encourage debate
- Increase funding in science communication in schools
Every child should be able to explain why global warming is a threat. That’s how we can survive the next millennium.
