Bill Gates Wants To Know... How To Make Kids Interested in Science

So Bill Gates wants to know how to get children more interested in science (he asks the question on Linked In).
Simple Bill - in three words - fun, exciting, important.
Make science fun.
Make it exciting.
Make it something that is perceived to have worth and importance in our society.

Make science mushy, gushy, messy, explosive, fun, something to think about before, during and after school. Don't fit it into a 45 minute block of time during a school day that is devoted to test-prep at the expense of everything else.

I could go on and on about it but instead I'll just remember the goofy science experiments and lessons I did with my early childhood classes. We laughed, we gasped, we thought and talked about them. We took pictures and they became "remember when?" moments. They were fun. They were exciting. They were important because I tied them into the children's worlds. They were relevant.

So Mr. Gates here's how it looks through the eyes of someone who looked at it through children's eyes for many years. Joyous, Fun, Exciting, Full of Feeling, Worthwhile.

Or, imagine what it looked like. A room full of children from all different countries around the world (our public school was called "The International School"). Some speak English, some don't. They're all huddled around a corner of the room. Some are wearing smocks, some are wearing rubber gloves. They are all smiling. Most are giggling. Some are ooo-ing and aaaaa-ing. Some are clapping their hands with glee and some are getting a bit giddy and jumping in place. Their eyes are glowing and their faces are shining. They're all smiling unless they're concentrating too hard, in which case, they are tense with anticipation.

They are inventing. They are creating. They are discovering. They are asking questions. They are uncovering answers. They are thinking new thoughts.
(Oh, and by the way - they're behaving.) They are scientists and they are loving every minute of it.

That's how you get kids interested in science Mr. Gates. Try it. You'll love every minute of it yourself.