But why?

Our three year old just loves asking questions: What is a lion? What does a lion eat? Why does it eat it? Why does a lion not have stripes? This is all before the all important strong cup of chai in the morning!

As we go through the education system this curiosity can sometimes get lost as we can get wrapped up in the business of ‘learning’ – which is a shame, especially when studying Science.

Science is all about questions …questions which could lead to discoveries (see what I did there .. 😉) So how do we get our little ones, big ones and even ones that are about to go to university and beyond to channel their inner journalist and ask those all important questions? Here are my top three tips:

Top tip number 1:

To have the 6 W’s in mind when thinking about Science: Who; What; Where; When; Why and How. This moment might be during a lesson or when experimenting at home – the idea is to utilise this magic 6 to help get those curiosity juices flowing.

Top tip number 2:

To realise that Science is everywhere! In a recent lesson teaching magnetism to a Year 3 student, her top started to glimmer in the sunlight...

‘Is this Science?’

Me: YES, yes it is! It links to lots of Physics like light, reflection, shadows - plus your top is made of materials found in Chemistry too ….

‘Wow, Science really is everywhere!’

*a truly golden moment in teaching 😊*

Top tip number 3:

Finally – the Question Book! Right from primary to A-level, any aged student can grab an old exercise book or notebook and pop on the front of it ‘Question Book.’

This is your child’s space for those questions that might crop up on the walk to school or in class and they just can’t muster the confidence to raise their hand at that time (I get this – I was most definitely one of those students!)

Once they have some questions, it’s important to make that time to research the answers – whether that’s through some independent reading or asking the teacher or tutor to go through it with them.

I encourage all my students to carry a Question Book especially during the pandemic where chunks of learning can get missed. This has often led to me creating new experiments and planning lessons to answer their question creatively.

Next time you are thinking about Science, have a go at channelling your inner three year old and ask – But Why?

Rupa Ahluwalia is the founder of RSA Discovery and passionate about getting young people into science. She is a fully qualified science teacher, with a Science PGCE from Oxford University, and has been working in schools and educational businesses for over 12 years.

She has been offering science tutoring, consultancy and primary science workshops since opening her business in 2019. Rupa is also currently a Lightyear Labs Lead for the Lightyear Foundation and has received training for introductory Makaton and ways to engage young SEN people into science.

To connect with Rupa to explore these key services, just email rsadiscovery@outlook.com to book in.