“It’s a weakness only if it keeps you from doing stuff.”
— Dr. Mae Jemison, chief ambassador for Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense program and the world’s first African-American female astronaut
Science used to scare me. When confronted with the periodic table, I found it to be just as terrifying as spiders. My dad, to his credit, spent many nights and weekends trying to explain physics, chemistry and geology. We would thumb through text books, skim charts and look at diagrams. Needless to say, I was not interested. Finally, my dad tried something different. One evening he showed me an experiment demonstrating evaporation. Seeing science come to life opened a new world of discovery and learning.
Science is all around us, and nurturing a child’s interest in science is important. For me, it was my dad who realized hands-on experiences were the key to unleashing my interest and curiosity in science.
Who inspired your love of science? Was it an encouraging parent who took on the role of science project sidekick? Maybe it was a teacher who had a knack for making science lessons more exciting than recess. Perhaps it was one of your favorite television characters off exploring the depths of space.
In an effort to provide 1 million hands-on science learning experiences for children by 2020, Bayer is encouraging people of all ages to share a “Thank you,” acknowledging someone who has inspired scientific imagination and helped to make science make sense in their lives.
For each “thank you” message shared, Bayer will provide free admission to a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) venue for a child (up to 25,000) through a new partnership with Tickets for Kids® Charities.
From today through November 25, 2015, you can share your “Thank You” message at SayTkU.com or via social media using #SayTkU.
My #SayTkU goes out to my dad. He never gave up on me and is the reason I’m passionate about inspiring and engaging kids in science. He helped science make sense for me. I am still not best friends with the periodic table, but my interest in science has gotten me to where I am today.
Guest blogger Marie Baker is an employee of Bayer. Bayer is a financial sponsor of National PTA. National PTA does not endorse any commercial entity, product or service, and no endorsement is implied by this content.
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