This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Hello, and welcome to Budding Scientist.
This is an exciting time for anyone concerned about the quality of science education in the United States. Not since 1957, the famous “Sputnik moment” that President Barack Obama invokes so often, has the country been this focused on improving the way young people learn science, math and engineering. In 2009, the White House launched its Educate to Innovate campaign, in which Scientific American is a partner, and which aims to move students from the middle to the top of international scientific literacy rankings in the next decade.
Budding Scientist will closely follow this effort, covering the latest policy research on science education as well as legislative developments as Congress prepares to revamp No Child Left Behind this fall. We will also go beyond the news and offer ideas for enriching children’s experience with science – whether it’s a national science fair, an outstanding camp program, a film, a museum exhibit, books, educational toys, or a project that one of our editors recently embarked upon with his or her own kids. At every step, we will encourage you to share your own ideas and projects, and answer your questions.
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This blog will also serve as a hub for Scientific American’s many other education-related projects, including our Citizen Science
initiative, where volunteers can sign up to help researchers observe wildlife, “catch” earthquakes and conduct many other projects; Bring Science Home, which features videos and descriptions of projects that grown-ups and kids ages 6 to 12 can do together; 1,000 scientists in 1,000 days, which matches teachers and scientists for classroom visits or curriculum help; our partnership with Google on the Google Science Fair, and our work with the White House on Change the Equation, a CEO-
led initiative aimed at improving scientific literacy as part of the Educate to Innovate campaign.
I’m looking forward to sharing this coverage with readers, and I hope you’ll check in again soon. In the meantime, here’s a recent piece I wrote about whether schools teach the scientific method in too linear a fashion: https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=schools-should-teach-kids-more-abou-2011-02-22
