​5 Essential Tips for Talking to Children About Science

As scientists, we are used to giving seminars, presentations, and speeches to different audiences.  For some people, it is easy.  For others like me, it is the stuff nightmares are made of.  But no audience is more challenging than a group of children.  If you don’t catch their attention quickly and retain it, you are doomed.  I have seen colleagues who are brilliant tenured professors in their jobs, have epic fails when presenting to a classroom full of schoolchildren.  I know, I’ve been one of the epic fails.
And the thing is, there is an increasing need for engaging children in doing science.  To have a more diverse and dynamic scientific workforce, children need to be exposed to role models early and often.  They need to see what it might be like for them to be a scientist, that there are scientists who look like them, and that science is, well, awesome!
Here are five quick tips to keep in mind whenever you have an eager and demanding audience of children for your presentation, whether your presentation is on national TV or at your child’s school. 

• They will ask you surprising questions, answer them – Once, I went to a school to make a career day presentation hauling a microscope, boxes of slides, microscopy oils, camera attachment, and dressed in my crisp but ill-fitting lab coat.  After setting everything up in the classroom, dropping the slides a bunch of times, and discovering that I forgot to bring the adapter for the camera, the children got a chance to see some microscopic slides.  Then, it was time for questions.  Some of the questions they asked: “Where did you get your shoes?” “How did you get here by car or subway?” “How much money do you make?” “Can I eat tons of candy and still be healthy?” “What is the most faraway place on earth?” “Why rotting things smell so bad?”.  My answers: “On 8th Street, The #6 Subway, Enough, No, Depends where you are, Because of bacteria that decompose the rotting things, like the bacteria we looked at in this microscope…”

The children will have surprising, off-topic, personal, and even inappropriate questions to ask you.  It is their job to make us uncomfortable and try to take control of the situation, but they also have genuine curiosity.  And, when it comes to science, children have very different perceptions of what that is, and of what a scientist does.  So take it in stride, answer their questions as crazy as they may seem, and try if possible to stir the conversation back to the topic at hand. ​

For instance, here is an example from a promotional video I did for Mission Unstoppable where each of the women scientists featured were asked: “Is a hot dog a sandwich?”  In my answer, although I acknowledge that the question could have been better if it was: “Is a hot dog food?” I answered the question by bringing it back to science.  

• Ask them questions – During your presentations to children, and when trying to answer their questions, see if you can turn it around and ask them questions?  Frequently, children will come up with the answers on their own when prompted in the right direction with open-ended questions that make them think and ponder. The key is not to dismiss their answers outright.    Go with it and see where the discussion takes you.  Sometimes they will come up with far-fetched ideas.  Other times, they will come up with the right answer, just expressed in a different way.  It’s fun to see their minds working, their little gears turning until they have their own aha moment.

I also use the time asking them questions to buy myself some time while I think of an answer to a question that is off-topic to try to get the conversation back on track.  For example, I was doing a TV interview about my career as an environmental health scientist.  At the end, I was asked to read questions asked by children.  One of the questions was, “How useful would you be in a zombie apocalypse?”.  I know nothing about this.  Apparently, it has to do with a TV horror show?  I have no idea.  So I asked a series of questions about “What kind of zombies are they?”.  I asked questions about these hypothetical zombies until I found a way to get back to the topic – my career as an environmental health scientist.  Although it was a little convoluted, I finally got there, and it was a big hit!  Judge for yourself here: https://youtu.be/4xyNrobkO2s

• Do not be condescending – This is a big one.  When you act or say things to show that you are superior, smarter, and more experienced than the children – that is condescending.  Children can pick up on our condescending tone or attitude like fresh meat in a tank full of sharks.  And they will be perplexed, hurt, mortified.  They will tune you out, or worse. 

 
One of the most cringe-worthy videos that I have ever seen online is the one of Senator Dianne Feinstein talking to a group of young climate activists.  Agh!  The video has everything: interrupting the children, the “I have 30 years of experience,” dismissive comments, and, gasp! Telling a girl of color to “take that back to whoever sent you here”  Even the senator’s body language, with her arms crossed and literally talking down to the children is the very definition of condescending.  It’s as hard to watch as a terrible car crash. Ugh!
 
The looks of disappointment, frustration, and sadness on the children’s faces is just heartbreaking.  You don’t want to break children’s hearts, do you?  If you can stomach watching this video to the end, remember it next time you are talking to children about science or any other topic.  Let it be a cautionary tale of what not to do.  Believe me, I know.  I may have done something like this in the past, especially before I had children.  Thankfully, it was not caught on tape, but now I know better.  There is no excuse for treating children like this.
 
Instead of a condescending attitude, try to remind yourself of what you are there to do.  You should not expect that the children will learn all that there is to know about your topic from that one presentation.  Your purpose is to encourage their curiosity and to leave them inspired.  Remember that.  See the infamous video here: https://youtu.be/jEPo34LCss8
 

• Get into it – It is not necessary to act like a clown, be excessively animated, or try to string a bunch of inauthentic jokes into your presentation.  Some of the most effective presentations for children that I have seen given by scientists have been serious.  But the presenters are passionate and genuine. 

 
When you are the real you, it is palpable.  If you love your career in science, this will naturally show through your presentation, whether you are funny or serious.  One way to get yourself into it is to start your presentation by saying something about that moment.  Offering a comment about the nice room where you are giving the presentation, or the weather, or anything that is happening in the now, will get you in touch with yourself at that moment and help you feel more present.
 
In my presentations, I just try to let my real personality show and be authentic.  Even if that gets me off the script a little bit, it helps me to get into it and enjoy giving the presentation.
 

• Keep it simple, but don’t dumb it down – Yes.  These are two very different things.  As Einstein is credited in saying, “Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” I know, your science is very complex. It takes a rocket scientist to understand it because perhaps you are a rocket scientist.  But believe me, there’s always a way to distill your concepts to the essentials. 

 
There is a whole field of study on communicating science to the general public.  Sometimes, it is not so easy to do.  Use any tools that may help you visualize and explain your concepts.  Can you use analogies?  Can you create an infographic?  Can you make a diagram or use props to illustrate your ideas?  Think creatively.  The act of simplifying your content to its core will also help you in generating new ideas and seeing your science with a different perspective.  It is worth also doing this when you are presenting to diverse audiences that are not in your field, and even for grant proposals. 
 
We have studied how groups of lay audiences, such as study participants, can gain increased knowledge when complex information is presented in simple but impactful formats.  Here is one of our studies in this area: https://www.drluzclaudio.com/uploads/2/6/2/6/26264188/claudio_et_al_communicating_environmental_health.pdf
 
And above all, do not reject invitations to speak at your local elementary schools as unimportant or a waste of your time.  You never know if you will spark an idea in a young mind.  This happened to me as a young person.  The first time I met an actual working scientist, I was in 12th grade.  It was the US energy crisis, and scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory came to my school in Puerto Rico to teach us how to save energy.  I will never forget the scientist’s presentation in which he asked: Which razor saves more energy to the country, the electric razor, or the disposable blade?  That was it!  I was hooked on science.