Sunday, June 23, 2019
By:
Intern’s Log
Stardate 72942.3
Ya know, there aren’t too many things better than teaching. The other interns and I had the opportunity to join many other scientists on the National Mall for Astronomy on the Mall night to teach kids about science and the universe outside of the confines of our world. Throughout the night I had the opportunity to see hundreds of people gather for the common purpose of learning. Children, adults, and grandparents alike participated in my and others’ demonstrations, and it got me thinking: teaching builds a relationship quite unlike anything else—just about everyone’s had a teacher sometime in their life that’s influenced them, given them something they could take away, or at least made them think a little bit deeper. For me? I was lucky enough to know a teacher from Day 1—and not just any teacher, a science teacher. I grew up in a house where after school I got to look forward to test-running the next day’s lab on the kitchen table with my mom. Peel the m’s off of the M&M’s before bed. Turn a penny gold on the stovetop. Make a mini flame-thrower. Predict the future whirling in the soapy crystal-ball of water vapor condensed by dry ice. The best part about teaching is that you don’t have to be paid to teach to be a teacher. Anyone can take the time to sit down and make someone else a little bit more knowledgeable, more talented, more worldly, more thoughtful.
Teach by example. Be the person you would want to emulate. Teach with enthusiasm and emotion, with a story and a smile. Make sure that whatever you do, it is in an effort to help others, to give other people a memory they can take with them and build upon. This is what I strive to do with my pursuit of science. Science is service. I write this frequently because I truly believe it. Making a kid smile with a science demonstration, even one as simple as swinging a tube in circles, is one of the most rewarding things in my mind. I want to encourage kids to pursue the sciences, to be curious, to shoot for the stars, just like my parents did for me.
Astronomy on the Mall? Definitely one of my summer highlights.
Nolan Roth