| Dr. Sharon Ann Holgate is a science
writer and broadcaster. She has written for New Scientist,
Focus, The Times Educational Supplement, and broadcast for
the BBC World Service and regional stations. She won
a Merit Award in the 1994 Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer
of the Year competition. |
We interviewed Dr. Holgate about The Way Science Works,
which she has co-authored with acclaimed writer Robin Kerrod. |
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The Way Science Works - a brilliantly
illustrated book that encourages children to discover science
for themselves. What inspired you to write this book?
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The fact that I could
hopefully inspire others. I'd love to think that what
I have written might encourage some of today's children
to take up science as a career, in the same way the books
I had as a child encouraged me to become a physicist.
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This year is Science Year, which particularly
focuses on raising the scientific understanding of those aged
10-19. Do you feel that young people today need to raise their
scientific awareness?
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With science and technology
having an increasingly large impact on our lives, I think
we all need to raise our scientific awareness so that
we can make informed choices on the sort of future we
want.
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The book includes 'hands-on' experiments
to illustrate scientific theories. For example, swinging a bucket
of water upside down without the water falling out demonstrates
centripetal force. How much do you feel experiments like this
help children to understand science?
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A lot. Nothing can replace
actually seeing something happening in front of you. It
certainly helps me, even as an adult, but then my doctorate
is in experimental physics rather than theoretical physics
so I guess I would say that, wouldn't I!
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What was the most difficult topic to
explain in your book?
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I think that some scientific
topics are hard to understand regardless of how well they
are explained. Certain things, as the book points out,
are not yet fully understood by scientists. Others are
understood quite well, but are simply hard to visualise.
Science is challenging, but the fact that some of it is
hard to understand, and the fact that we don't have all
the answers yet is what makes it so interesting. Science
is like a big jigsaw puzzle with many of the pieces still
missing. Hopefully the next generation of scientists will
come along and put some of those pieces into place.
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What would you say are the best resources
for a parent to interest their child in science?
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Apart from this book?!
There's a lot of good stuff on the Internet put up by
schools and science centres around the world, but nothing
can quite replace actually visiting a science museum or
centre. I think the sorts of interactive exhibits most
contain nowadays are great. Also I think making sure your
child has a library ticket is one of the best investments
in both their general and scientific education that you
can make. Other than that just encouraging children to
look at the world around them, and taking the time to
explain what everyday things are and how they work shouldn't
be underestimated.
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PHOTO CREDITS
Robot Hand, Department of Cybernetics, University of
Reading |
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