Skype a scientist – opportunity to connect with students around the world without having to leave your lab!
Skype a scientist gives you the opportunity to connect with students around the world without having to leave your lab!
We match scientists with k-12 classrooms, and once matched, you will video chat into the classroom for a 30-60 minute session (you don’t have to use skype). The format is Q and A style so that the kids feel they’ve had direct contact with scientists. We want to put a friendly face to science and lower the intimidation factor that surrounds science for some students. There are many lectures available on youtube by scientists, so don’t feel like you have to prepare a lecture, just have a conversation!
We recommend that you give your teacher an overview of what you do. It’s super helpful if you have something the teacher can share with his/her students, e.g. youtube videos, a ted talk, or blog posts related to your work. If you don’t have any of those things, just a laymen overview of your work is okay too! Students will prepare questions ahead of time so that they’re ready with conversation starters when the you call in.
One of the awesome things about this program is that we can reach classrooms anywhere, especially areas of the country (and the world) where kids wouldn’t necessarily have access to science museums or naturally run into scientists in their every day life. You can sign up for as many or few classrooms as you think you’ll have time for this semester.
For more information and to sign up see the Skype a scientist website!