The home page of Skype a Scientist where students across the globe are able to connect to Ohio State’s practicing scientists. Credit: Lily Hynes | Assistant Photo Editor
The home page of Skype and Scientists where students are able to connect to Ohio State’s practicing scientists.
Credit: Lily Hynes | Assistant Photo Editor
If Google isn’t giving you the answer you need, just ask a scientist.
A program founded in 2017 called “Skype a Scientist” works to connect students with scientists across the globe, with the mission of making science “accessible and fun,” according to its website. The program matches scientists with classrooms based on specialty and preferred age range, and teachers coordinate with scientists to schedule teleconferences that will best support their classroom or student group, according to Laura Pomeroy, assistant professor in environmental health sciences.
Pomeroy said she has been participating in science outreach since she was a graduate student, and the program has been a great opportunity to connect communities with Ohio State researchers and faculty.
“Once I started doing science outreach, I realized I really enjoyed talking to people about science and started looking for opportunities locally,” Pomeroy said.
According to Ann Marie Hulver, a Ph.D. student in the School of Earth Sciences, these teleconferences don’t only benefit students. Teleconferences with varied age ranges also provide Ohio State faculty with the opportunity to interact with science enthusiasts of all different ages and grades.
“I now know how to talk to a wide range of ages about my research and encourage them to get interested in marine science,” Hulver said.
Hulver and Pomeroy work to educate and answer questions from students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Hulver said many students have never met a scientist before and are eager to learn about ongoing research that isn’t a part of their everyday curriculum.
“It really helps the younger kids get excited about scientific topics that they wouldn’t probably learn about in class,” Hulver said.
For students further into their education, Pomeroy and Hulver can share how they got into scientific research and what programs and academic focuses got them to their current scientific occupations.
“I think that students of all different ages benefit from these meetings and get different things out of them based on where they are in their education,” Pomeroy said.
Meeting a scientist is an effective way of introducing different scientific careers and fields of research to interested students, Pomeroy said. Many students ask questions about the daily life and educational achievements of scientists.
“I think it gives students the impression that scientists are approachable and that the occupation is something they can do if they want to,” Pomeroy said.
