“Fun” is
not usually one of the first adjectives that would come to mind when asked to
describe science, but the guests from the Mind Museum who gave us a talk a week
ago beg to differ. Referring to themselves as ‘Mind Movers’, these resident
scientists work with the Museum in order to achieve the latter’s goal of
inspiring the public to delve into and to understand science.
These Mind Movers began their talk
with figures showing how Filipinos’ proficiency and interest in science, both
within the country and on a worldwide scale have recently been declining. This
allowed them to segue into the main gist of their talk, which explained what
they did on daily basis in the Museum. Through the use of demonstrations and creativity,
the Movers are able to encourage their guests to understand science in an
entirely new light, making it particularly easier for them to see how the
subject plays into our daily lives. Within the museum, guests are given the opportunity
to understand life in terms of the Atom, the Earth, Life, Technology, and the
Universe. In this way, science becomes so much more than a theoretical concept
discussed in a book or in a lecture. It becomes something to play with,
something to tell a story with.
Through the talk, the Movers were
able to show us how science is, easily, an intrinsic part of our lives that
cannot be avoided. As Carl Sagan once said, it is “more than a body of
knowledge; It’s a way of thinking, [...] of skeptically interrogating the
universe.” Should we allow ourselves to think critically and to incorporate science
into our lives, we allow ourselves to live curiously, and to discover new
things about the universe and ourselves everyday.
Rillo 2013-14388
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