Giving Back in Science Education

I get often asked about all kinds of things in science and related topics from people who know what I do for a living. The most common one is, "You're a what??!" However sometimes these questions and having a broad general knowledge base leads into some interesting opportunities. The second most common question I often get asked is about Climate Change, and although I'm not a meteorologist, Geophysics is of course a closely related area. A friend who is a teacher asked me the other week if I would go and talk to some 6th-grade students at her school who had some questions about Climate Change for their school science research projects. So I said, sure, why not? And before I knew it the following week I was in front of a small group of young inquisitive minds asking me things like, "What are the causes of climate change", "What is the effect on the arctic and sea levels" and "What types of things can we do to convince people to care". What surprised me a little was how much they already knew for 10/11 year olds, but also how their opinions were already strongly influenced by common public perception and misperception. For example, they mostly all thought that humans were solely responsible for climate change, not realising it is natural and normal phenomenon, mostly influenced by solar and tectonic activity, which has recently been modified unintentionally and adversely by humans. It is hard not to sound negative or send negative messages about the future, but I did encourage them to remain inquisitive and work towards finding solutions that help improve science and communications, and understanding that humans need to minimise their ecological footprint if we are to remain viable as a species in the future and help other species at the same time. I was rewarded with lots of bright smiles and thankyous and a hand written card and choccies. A good reminder that always giving back what you have learned is a great way to improve the future and feel good about yourself as well.