[Moblog] Scientists' Day

Today is Scientists' Day at Linden Elementary School in Oak Ridge, where dozens of scientists and engineers tour through the school giving demonstrations to the kids (K-4th grade).

Last year, Eldest of Oz was a fourth grader - so I talked "nuclear" for the more advanced students in that class. This year, Man-Cub is a 1st grader - so I brought the 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain and talked astronomy.

We have some smart kids in this school, who quickly grasped the concept of "Doppler Shift" (and easily refuted my test hypothesis that, based on simple observations, the sun goes around the earth).

More than half of all students (K-4) participated in this week's Science Fair, too. Since it was optional for K-2, I see this as a very promising indicator of the science savvy of our next generation!