Member-only story
How I Got My 5-Year-Old Hooked On Science
Five ways of getting kids interested in research from an early age
Children are born scientists.
They experiment with everything right from their birth. They learn that when they cry, they are cared for. They discover their hands and fingers by putting them in their mouth. They sample their toys and other things around them to understand shapes and textures.
They throw things from heights and discover gravity with joy. They love peek-a-boos because they discover that their parent does not go off forever but returns in a few seconds. They’re constantly testing out their theories and adjusting their understanding of the world around them.
So, they’re natural scientists, as Carl Sagan articulates:
“Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.”
As parents, we have this phenomenal opportunity when children are young to pique their interest in the sciences. It is not with the aim that they end up in careers in the sciences; it is too early to think of that…
