A very interesting article and short video on how an undergrad student's curiosity turned into fundamental research w/ potential practical applications: http://engineering.stanford.edu/news/stanford-researchers-solve-mystery-dancing-droplets It's a fresh example of this maxim: The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...' -Isaac Asimov
One of my first chats with students is about curiosity and how to keep it. I ask them if they would like to be the kind of parent that is able to answer their kids science related questions of curiosity. That seems to sink in...
Curiosity is at the core of science. All of science is driven from a desire to know more, to discover why things work the way they do. Children are already naturally curious, when it comes to science the goal should be to channel that into science related goals. Why does ice float, why do clouds form and why do leaves turn brown?
I really do love it when an activity starts with and arouses more curiosity. It's one of my goals and one of the most gratifying aspects of teaching when excitement and curiosity leads to understanding!
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