How to Create Wonder with Data and a Physical Object
A step-by-step approach to cultivating curiosity
“And the T-Rex was SO big!” squealed my best friend Emily, who was sitting next to me on the bus ride to Kindergarten. It was a humid Florida morning and my legs were sticking to the seat, but I hardly noticed because Emily was spilling every detail of the coolest new movie: Jurassic Park.
I was shocked that her parents let her see the movie (mine had told me that it was too scary for a 6-year-old), but I was even more shocked by what she said next:
“The T-Rex was bigger than THIS BUS!”
Bigger than this bus? But there’s a ton of kids in here! Could we all fit inside a T-Rex’s stomach? Emily and I looked around the bus with wild eyes, imagining the space around us filling up with the body of a giant dinosaur.
I still remember this moment 27 years later. Why? Because of the intense sense of wonder that Emily’s comparison evoked.
What is wonder?
Wonder is a powerful feeling. Science writer Sandi Schwartz says, “Awe allows us…
