Scott McRoberts is a professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He is studying the relationship between environmental temperature and the development of frogs and toads.
His research assistants are second-grade students at the Friends' Central School. They are weighing and watching tadpoles as they develop into frogs at different temperatures. They're having a great time at it, too. When the first two tadpoles fully became frogs, the whole school was abuzz.
It's this kind of excitement that will provide future scientists, but, perhaps more important, the kids who watched those tadpoles and don't become scientists will have a better idea of how science works and why some of us think it's pretty wonderful. They'll be more likely to take one or two science courses later and to recognize why Intelligent Design isn't science. They'll be better able to evaluate the pros and cons of the next atmospheric treaties after Kyoto and will generate their own opinions about new nuclear weapons.
So three cheers for Scott McRoberts!
This story was reported by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee in the 8 July Science Magazine, available on the Web only by subscription, but I thought it should have more exposure.