Space Zoo Patrol What is “Science”?
Science is the search for new knowledge. Science is also the collection of all that knowledge, the information on all the things that we have discovered or invented. We have scientific knowledge of the universe, our world, our neighborhood, and our own backyard. Our knowledge of some things is very thorough, but our knowledge of other things is almost nothing. If we don’t know something, then we try to find out more about it. Scientists are discovering new things almost every day, adding to our knowledge. And if you listen closely, you may hear a scientist, somewhere, yelling “Eureka!” or “Yippee!” after they make a discovery. There are many areas of science; in this website we show six major areas: Astronomy/Space Science, Biology, Chemistry, Geology/Earth Science, Math, and Physics/Technology.
Science, What is it Good For?
Absolutely everything. Science has helped us cure diseases, grow better crops, invent cars and computers, and discover and invent millions of other things. Maybe you could discover a new little frog that could help us cure a disease. Maybe you could invent a better battery for electric cars to help them go farther.
Who is a Scientist?
A scientist is a person who is curious, who likes to discover and invent things, and who helps people. If you are curious enough to try to look through a leaf, try to make different types of paper airplanes, or try to use more heat to make a crispy cookie (or less heat to make a chewy cookie), then you could be a scientist.
How do Scientists Learn about “Stuff”?
It is important to know how new knowledge is discovered. There are two main ways to go about this discovery process or “scientific inquiry”, as scientists often call it: Observational Research and Experimental Research. Astronomers, biologists, chemists, geologists, mathematicians, and physicists all use both methods to find answers.
Scientific Inquiry – Observational Research
Observational research is when you just want to poke around and see what you see, using plain old curiosity and a desire to expand knowledge for the sake of knowledge. These investigations are fun and exciting. After your investigations, you talk with others and compare your observations with their observations. Examples of observational research: “What’s in the woods?” or “What’s on Mars?” or “What does that new orange juice taste like?”
Scientific Inquiry – Experimental Research
What if your observations are different from your friend’s observations? Or, what if your observations from your first exploration are different from your second exploration? Or, what if you wanted to solve a specific problem? You would be curious to see what the real answer is. You could do an experiment (kind of like exploring but with more detail). For example, if you didn’t like the new orange juice, how could you make it taste better?
You could try one experiment where you added a little more sugar to see how it tastes. Sometimes you find the answer the first time and sometimes you have to keep trying new experiments. If adding sugar didn’t work, you could try a second experiment to add a little salt, or maybe mix it with a banana, or a little cinnamon. There are a million experiments waiting for you.