Ask a Scientist!
Children and the general public have a chance to ask questions for which they don’t have answers
This programme was created to extend the Cartas com Ciência format to contexts such as scientific festivals and open days at research institutes. We want to promote children’s and general-public’s access to the world of research, and stimulate their curiosity, making them think about questions for which they don't know the answer. We want to make scientists aware of the responsibility to share their work and path with the youngsters and the general public, acting as role models.
Get to know the first edition:
The first "Ask a Scientist" took place in early 2020 between students from the All Souls High School in Ibadan, Nigeria, and scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Each student wrote one or more questions on a postcard addressed to an EMBL scientist; students were very curious about what it is like to be a scientist and what it is like to work in a laboratory. The result was a series of many interesting and fun questions! At EMBL, 77 scientists took up the challenge of answering the postcards from these students, and letting them know a little about their lives in science. 97% of the scientists said they would take part in a similar initiative in the future and 46% stated that this experience rekindled their passion for science.
Check the Challenge we created together with the Juvenile News Channel "Radar XS", from RTP2 (in Portuguese)