Children say the darndest things -- even about science. But if you listen closely, sometimes their words are wise. That was certainly the case when I visited first- and second-graders at the Montessori Academy of Chicago. The school focuses on teaching a "cosmic education," which encourages students to be aware of how everything in the universe is connected.
"The Montessori environment is its own microcosm of learning and discovery where the children independently guide their love of science through the use of materials and their own research," Fosca White, the academy's head of school, told The Huffington Post. "Learning from the child’s eyes can and should be pure joy, and their natural intelligence is only stimulated by their love of learning."
As White's students gave me their take on wormholes, dinosaurs, and even the Higgs boson, I couldn't help but wonder how the world may differ if adults held on to that innate enthusiasm we have for science. What do you think? Check out the video above and leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Talk nerdy to me!
JACQUELINE HOWARD: Hey everyone. Jacqueline Howard here. What were the dinosaurs really like? Can we time travel? And what would an alien sound like? I don't even have a clue, and scientists don't really know either. But I’m here at the Montessori Academy of Chicago to ask first-graders those very questions -- and they have some great ideas. Let’s get started!
TITLE CARD: What is space?
MARCUS: Space is where rocks are formed!
ANNIE: Space is where meteorites come from!
MARCUS: And, space is from where the big bang comes from!
TITLE CARD: How do alien hunters scan the skies for signs of life?
MARCUS: Scientists are searching in space and using satellites to then detect signals.
JH: So what are scientists searching for? What type of signals?
ANNIE: Maybe dinosaur signals.
MARCUS: No, like, alien signals. Like, I think there's a, “chee! chee! chee!” Like that sound of an alien. That sounds like an alien.
JH: That’s what you think an alien would sound like?
LEILA: I think an alien would sound like, "Bloop, Blip, Bleep, Bloop, Bloop..."
MARCUS: But I heard on TV it would go like, "Cheech, Doo, Dah, Dah, Dah..."
LEILA: I think it’s kind of crazy like, “Bleep, Bloop, Blap, Blap, Blap, Bleep, Bleep, Bloop...”
JH: That sounds right.
MARCUS: No, it’s like this, “Shoooosh, shooosh.” That’s what the signals they’re detecting are, they said.
TITLE CARD: Is time travel possible?
MARCUS: I raise my hand for true.
ANNIE: True.
LEILA: False.
MARCUS: Time travel is like a wormhole. You can fly through it. It would go, zoom! There, done, so fast.
JH: That was easy.
MARCUS: It would be easier.
TITLE CARD: If you could time travel, where would you go?
CALEB: Well, if I would time travel, I would go see the universe. And see, because when stars explode it’s another star, but sometimes they form a black hole.
TITLE CARD: But some kids would use time travel for destination travel.
MARCUS: I would go to the past, actually. But then, I would move to Asia.
LEILA: I would go to Hawaii.
ANNIE: I would go to the past, and then Hawaii.
MARCUS: I would go to the past, to the dinos, and then I'd go to Hawaii.
LEILA: But then you would get killed.
ANNIE: What if we trained the dinosaurs?
JH: Hey, that would be kind of cool.
MARCUS: And then I would go like, "Over here, steady, steady."
TITLE CARD: We recently had a poll on The Huffington Post asking readers which dinosaur is their favorite. T. rex came out on top. Do you agree?
MARCUS: I got a different one.
LEILA: Different one, for sure.
MARCUS: The Ankylosaurus. Ankylosaurus has a club, because they use it, “Powwwww!” That’s what they use for protection on their tails, it’s called a club, at the end.
JH: So it’s a defense mechanism.
MARCUS: Yes.
JH: Yes.
TITLE CARD: What are atoms?
GISELLE: No, he really knows a lot. Just ask him.
JH: OK, Oliver, I'll just ask you.
OLIVER: Atoms are very small things that make up life. Also, using Higgs bosons to fuse them together, because people just discovered it. Before they even knew, they just said there has to be just some such thing. Then they just discovered it.
TITLE CARD: What will cars of the future look like?
LEILA: I think it will look like a big jeep!
MARCUS: I think it will look like a big motor car, like a van.
LEILA: I think we'll be using robots! "I am a future robot. Pthhh! Oopsie, excuse me."
JH: Whew, I’m all talk nerd-ied out! But as you can see, as children, we all have that natural curiosity for science. So what's needed to keep our youth interested in science? Let me know in the comments, and talk nerdy to me.
See all Talk Nerdy to Me posts.
Related
Before You Go
