Post by Elana Kananykhina, undergraduate at Portland State University. Elana is pursuing a minor in interdisciplinary neuroscience, and volunteers in Adie Rae Wilson-Poe’s cannabinoid research lab at Legacy Research Institute.
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Last month we visited 4th graders in Portland Public Schools, and considered their compelling questions.
LEARN MORE: How to visit public schools
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Who’s really good at asking “why?”
Kids and scientists.
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Science is just as much (if not more) about asking questions than it is about finding answers.
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Being in the scientific realm within academia can often feel very dry and goal-oriented, with rote memorization and mind-bending equations.
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Experiencing NW Noggin outreach reminded me why I love science in the first place.
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It’s making a career out of curiosity; kind of like being a kid forever, just a little bit bigger and in a lab coat. As they say – it’s about the journey, not the destination. It’s peeking behind the curtains of common sense and asking “why” again and again until you hit a wall.
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“It’s the not the Destination, It’s the journey.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
As adults, we assume that we ought to just “Google it” when we have a question. We’re afraid of asking questions out of fear of sounding silly, but not doing so robs us of the opportunity to encourage dialogue that could lead to the newest discovery.
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Sitting with 4th graders and letting their brains come up with questions about the brain was endlessly impressive and wildly inspiring. I look forward to joining future outreach events!