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What are fun things you do as a scientist?
Question Date: 2015-05-21
Answer 1:

What a great question - because you are asking questions, you are already starting to think like a scientist!

Basically, as a scientist, I ask questions about our world and then try and figure out answers using the scientific process and good evidence. Every day, I get to learn something new and talk with people who are also curious about how stuff works. How awesome is that? Sometimes, it can be really challenging and hard to figure out answers, and sometimes you are wrong, but overall, the process of doing science is very enjoyable. Science is a way of understanding our world based on asking good questions and then testing ideas, looking for good evidence. I really like that part. I didn't think I would be a scientist at first because I didn't understand that - I thought "science" was just a list of things (like parts of a plant or parts of a microscope). It wasn't until I was in college that I actually realized that science was so much, and that we really don't know all that much. That made me really excited to try and contribute to our knowledge by becoming a scientist. But no matter what you do for your life's work, if you keep asking good questions and apply logic and critical thinking as you try and figure out the answer, you are, indeed, a scientist! I hope you have fun, too!


Answer 2:

Scientists get to do many fun things during their careers. In addition to being able to talk about science and our own research, we also get to travel to all sorts of places and meet all sorts of people. In fact, this summer, I'll be able to travel to Finland to present some of my research. I'm excited, not only because I've never been to Scandinavia before (I'm trying to learn a little Finnish now; we'll see how it goes), but also because I'll get to meet many of researchers who do similar work! Perhaps the best part is you learn something new everyday as a scientist; sometimes you help teach someone else something useful, and that's pretty cool, too.

At the end of the day, scientists are like anyone else. Everyone has a variety of interests outside of science that they enjoy doing. Many of my lab mates and friends love doing a range of activities. Some are outdoors, like biking, hiking, camping, or kayaking. Others are indoors.

My roommates and I, for instance, like playing boardgames or watching a marathon of a show. Or sometimes we get distracted and end up talking to each other about random things. Every so often, we have a potluck and a big cooking bonanza. Lots of my classmates also love music, and so many are in barbershop groups or play instruments in their free time. Every once in a while, I have a BBQ with my lab mates and we play soccer in the grass, and a lot of times I'll try out a new cake to bring. Or other times, we'll go and explore the area (just last weekend, we went to a trampoline park for fun). I'll bet we do a lot things you do, too!


Answer 3:

I...
...dig in deserts for the remains of ancient plants of long ago...

...prowl around in tropical rainforests and marvel at the number of species...

...learn things no human has ever known before...

...share that knowledge with other scientists, and with my students.



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