OUAB hosted “An Evening with Bill Nye” in front of a sold-out crowd at Mershon Auditorium Monday. Credit: Meghan Beery | Kraft Copy Chief
Chants of “Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!” heard around elementary school classrooms echoed through the Mershon Auditorium Monday night as William Nye, better known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, spoke to a crowd of students and community members.
Similar to Nye’s Emmy award-winning TV show “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” Nye explained how students can create change in the world, but — unlike the show — discussed phenomena beyond basic scientific principles, like climate change and the role students can play in mitigating it.
The Ohio Union Activities Board hosted the event in collaboration with ENCompass Columbus — an Ohio State student organization dedicated to addressing social determinants of health — and Youth for STEM Equity — a Columbus nonprofit that aims to foster diversity within the STEM community, according to its website. The event combined Nye’s signature areas: science, humor and a touch of whimsy.
“[Nye] brings his love of science and character comedy to every appearance, definitely transcending complex issues to help inspire audiences of all ages to engage with and improve our world,” said Pranali Mistry, vice president of outreach for ENCompass and chair of alumni relations for OUAB.
Maya Sivakumaran, a fourth-year in aerospace engineering, led the discussion, focusing on Nye’s career journey and STEM education and literacy.
Familiarly, Nye cracked jokes, discussed the differences between Venus, Mars, and the Earth’s atmospheres and addressed the audience directly. Even when discussing heavy topics, Nye said he stays true to his character.
“Part of the success of the science guy show is what you see is what you get,” Nye said. “I love science. I think it’s the coolest thing. I love comedy if it’s funny, and combining those things is a joy and an honor. But when you’re talking about anything serious, it’s still, I feel, good to be a little bit whimsical because that’s how I am.”
This maxim applied to Nye’s discussion of climate change.
“People say to me, ‘Bill. Nye. The Science Guy. What can I do about climate change?’” Nye said. “And do you know what I tell them, Maya? Vote.”
Nye said his goal has remained the same since the show began: change the world. Those three words were copied onto the top of a paper given to everybody working on the show, Nye said.
“That was the objective in 1993 [when the show started airing], and it’s still the objective,” Nye said. “I want you all to save the world for humans. The world’s going to be here, no matter what we do. I want to save the world for me, for humans.”
Changing the world for the better includes raising the standard of living for girls and women, expanding access to internet and education, and focusing on clean water, Nye said.
“We’ve got stuff to do, people,” Nye said. “We need electricity. We need electricity distributed. We need clean water for everybody. We’ve got to make the world more fair.”
Fairness and equity have changed significantly over the last 30 years, Nye said.
“I’m just glad now we have awareness,” Nye said. “The whole thing for me is about fairness. And when you look at the people who designed the Voyager spacecraft, for example, they’re mostly people that look like me.”
However, one comment on fairness led to audience murmurs and Nye joking that he had ended his career, as he commented on regulations for transgender athletes.
“I love swimming, and if I were a competitive swimmer, I would want to win swim races,” Nye said. “That would be fine. But after you go through puberty, you’re committed. OK, so, we’re not going to be going back and forth and changing who won swim races based on how I’m making these extraordinary changes. If I’m going too fast for you, I’m all for diversity and inclusion, but we just — we gotta have a few rules.”
The conversation continued amid chatter from the audience, who Nye said could “bust [his] chops” later.
Nye ended by answering audience questions on his favorite episode, his favorite project as an engineer and the difference between scientists and engineers.
