“A growing body of evidence supports the contention that the public learns science in settings and situations outside of school” – page 488

This line in the article really resonated with me. Even in elementary school, science was not my favorite subject. But the things that I recall the most were things that involved us getting out and actually doing something based in the physical world that surrounded the classroom. Two examples come to mind, one that took place in the classroom but was taught in a way that it felt like it wasn’t, and one that took place primarily at home. The first was in 5^th grade. We were learning about ecosystems and the symbiotic relationships that take place in nature. My teacher ordered tanks, and seeds and bugs, and we created living terrariums in our classroom. It was so fun, and so educational. Our class time was spent caring for our terrariums and documenting what was happening within. My teacher brought the outside world in, and to this day I recall the lesson. The second example is the annual school science fair that took place in school. One year I did my experiment on wasps. The reason I chose this as my topic was because we had just found and dealt with a wasp’s nest right outside my house. I was able to take it down, study it and exhibit it at the fair. I was very proud of it, and was really able to learn about the nest and the wasps because I saw the nest and the wasps in the real world.

I think this article highlights the importance of showing the public, specifically younger children that science extends beyond the textbook assigned for the year. It’s also much more fun and engaging, and can really prove useful in teaching a lesson and making it stick.