Inside:  How to encourage a young person who’s passionate about science is not always easy.  But it is well worth the effort if your child shows a love for science.  It’s never too early or too late to stoke that passion for asking questions.  There are many career paths involving science.  You never know where that passion for science will pay off but pay off it will.

How to encourage a young person who’s passionate about science?  Its not always easy.  But, if you have a son or daughter who loves science, you’ll probably want to encourage and support them in whatever ways you can. As a teacher, you also likely want to encourage your students’ passions.  If its science, read on for some great tips in encouraging that passion.  After all, it’s not every child that ends up passionate about academic subjects at school, and that interest might even set them up for a career in science if it’s nurtured properly in the years ahead. From the point of view of a parent, guardian or teacher, here are some examples of what you can do to encourage them.

 

beakers and science bottles

 

Encourage a Young Person who is Passionate about Science by Taking Them to Museums and Talks

 

If you want to focus on encouraging their love of science outside the classroom, you should take them to places where they can see and experience science in an engaging way first-hand. There are so many great science museums around the world that makes that possible for them, so find the ones near you or the ones you want to travel to with your child .  As a classroom teacher, a field trip to a science museum or dinosaur exhibit will peak the interest of most kids but will be especially interesting to kids passionate about science.

A guide is usually provided for groups and they will talk about the exhibits providing extra information not on display.  Hands on activities for the kids are found in many science centres and museums giving real on-hand experience with equipment your school or home likely won’t have.  In Toronto Ontario Canada, the Ontario Science Centre provides displays and hands on activities for the kids.  It is an awesome place of science learning.  I’ve been to many a field trip there with my boys and their school over the years.

A dinosaur exhibit at a museum.

Taking kids to a museum stokes their passion for science.
Image by Hulki Okan Tabak from Pixabay

 

Encourage Them to Focus on Mathematics Too – Math is Important when You’re Passionate about Science

 

Right now, your child might only have a deep and passionate interest in science. But it’s important to know that for things like physics and chemistry, it’s also necessary to have strong math skills. Most of physics revolves around math.  Chemistry is a lot of math.  Even biology and ecology need it.  Experiments and field studies require collecting data.  Data must be analyzed to find patterns.  Math is needed to find those patterns and to figure out if your assumptions, when doing your study, are supported.

Everyone who does any kind of science needs to have a good understanding of math. So encourage them to apply themselves in math classes the same way they do in science classes. Doing so will help them go further in the field of science later on.

Learning about math.

Math is so needed for science.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Let Them Take a Hands-On Approach

 

Letting them take a more hands-on approach can be helpful when you’re encouraging a young person who’s passionate about science. It’s something that can be done in a variety of different ways. Order science kits online.  Take online coding classes.  Join a group of friends who also love science.

Let them go outside and study nature.  I used to find puddles, collect some of the water in jars and look at it under a microscope.  I found hundreds of microscopic wonders in a single drop of water.

You might want to take them to places where they see science in action or give them the opportunity to try to take part in trips and camps that are centered on science.  There are loads of opportunities to stoke a kid’s science passions.

Kids working together during science club.

Get kids involved in science clubs to stoke their science passion.
Image by Patricia Lacolla from Pixabay

 

Help Them Access the Tools and Equipment They Need

 

If you want to really encourage them to develop their interest in science, you might want to give them gifts that help them delve further into the things they’re already interested in. For younger kids, it might be something as simple as a home science kit that they can play around and experiment with. For older kids, scientific microscopes such as EMCCD Cameras might be cool gifts to give.  A microscope was my favorite science tool as a kid.  I spent hours looking at drops of water from our fish tank and from puddles outside.  I loved drawing pictures of all of the microscopic creatures I found.

In a single drop of water lurks a multitude of organisms.  I found hundreds of them and wondered at the fierce-looking creatures within those drops of aquarium water.  Use this article, Microscopic Organisms in a Drop of Pond Water, and a microscope like one from EMCCD Cameras and discover the hidden world of invisible creatures lurking in a pond or aquarium.

CHild using a microscope.

Give kids the equipment they need to be passionate about science.
Image by press ? and ⭐ from Pixabay

Read Science Books Together When They’re Young

 

Encouraging a young person’s science passion means starting young.  If you have a young child who’s showing an interest in science, reading about the subject with them might be a good idea. There are science books out there for every age bracket, so you shouldn’t have much difficulty finding something suitable. You can read together, helping to develop both their reading skills and their interest in science. Read some science activity books that have experiments you can work on together or in the classroom.  It can only be a good thing getting young kids involved in science.

Reading a science book to your child.

Reading science books when your kids are young encourages a passion in science.
Image by Diana Cibotari from Pixabay

 

As you can see, there are lots of different things you can do if you want to help your child or student follow their passion for science and make the most of it going forward. No matter what age they’re at, it’s never too early or too late to offer them the support and encouragement they need from you.  Devoted parents, homeschool parents or classroom teachers can all stimulate those kids who are passionate about science.