Who can BEE a scientist?

This week's class had us pondering "Yeah, but what does a scientist DO?"  These 6th grade kids from Bethesda, Maryland had some good ideas.  (Sorry, other kids, but curly-headed blue striped shirt is my favorite.)

And just WHO can be a scientist?  When I think scientist, I think of a serious-looking adult in a lab coat pondering various unknown colored liquids.  In fact, I just google image searched "scientist" and this was the very first result, I swear!  But if you have a question, want to gain knowledge, and seek that knowledge through a scientific approach, then are you not a scientist?  Why can't the students in our classrooms produce scientific findings just a valuable and interesting as Lady Labcoat over there?  Well, if you ask neuroscientist Beau Lotto, they can!  I highly encourage you to take 15 minutes and watch this TEDtalk with Beau Lotto and Amy O'Toole that shares the story of the Blackawton Bees Project.  Amy and 25 of her 12 year old classmates published the first peer-reviewed article by school children.  You can read the article here.

If we value our students' inquiries and expect them to do great things, then they just might.