With the first weekend of October approaching, the Weekend of Science is once again just around the corner. On Saturday, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will open its doors to visitors of all ages, offering them a glimpse into the fascinating world of science. For Barbara Braams, the 2019 Weekend of Science marked the beginning of a special science communication project. “The children I have met over the years have taught me to look at the world with fresh eyes.”
On Saturday 3 October, visitors can explore research in biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, computer science and artificial intelligence at the O|2 Lab Building between 10.00 and 17.00. Laboratories will open their doors, researchers will give special demonstrations, and visitors will be able to see up close how science works in practice.
What began in 2019 as a one-off show during the Weekend of Science has since grown into the Hoe?Zo! Show. The initiative has developed into a theatre tour, a school programme, a training course for PhD candidates and even a book. The common thread remains the same: inspiring children’s curiosity about science and helping them discover how knowledge is created and how they can assess which information is reliable.
Why do you think it is important for VU Amsterdam to take part in the Weekend of Science?
Barbara Braams: “It is a wonderful and accessible way to show people all the extraordinary things that happen at a university. It also makes science less abstract: you see that research is carried out by people just like you and me. At the same time, it shows children how science works. An answer does not simply appear out of nowhere; sometimes you have doubts, you have to reconsider things and compare different sources. By practising that way of thinking, children also become better at judging which information they can trust.”
Was that also what motivated you to take part in the Weekend of Science in 2019?
“Yes, absolutely. My motivation was, and still is, to bring science closer to children and society. The Hoe?Zo! Show started in 2019 as a one-off show during the Weekend of Science, driven precisely by that desire to spark curiosity and introduce children to the scientific way of thinking.
“It eventually grew into a theatre tour, a school programme and a science communication training course for PhD candidates. This year, our hundredth PhD candidate will complete the course. But even more importantly, over the past few years we have reached around 20,000 children and introduced them to the way we arrive at reliable knowledge. Primary school is the ideal time to start doing that.”
During the shows, you focus on the questions children ask. What do you learn from them?
“Children look at the world with fresh eyes and ask questions that adults often no longer stop to think about. I find that incredibly instructive. A question such as ‘Why is air transparent?’ sounds very simple, but it immediately makes you think. I have also learnt that almost any scientific topic can be interesting to children, as long as you connect it to their world. They do not have to understand everything straight away. If you can spark their sense of wonder and show them how to investigate a question, you have already achieved a great deal.”
I understand you are even publishing a new book at the end of October?
“Yes, that’s right. During the shows, children ask us an enormous number of questions, and we wanted to do more with them. In the book, we use those questions as a starting point to show how science works. For example: why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the tube? Why do we have emotions? How can tectonic plates move? How did money come into existence? And can blind people see in their dreams?
“We also address the big questions, such as how life on Earth began or what science actually is. We do not simply provide an answer; we take children along on the journey towards it. How do you approach a question like that? Where do you start? And what do you do when you are not yet certain of the answer? It is precisely that curiosity and sense of wonder that we want to preserve.”
As luck would have it, I have the author sitting opposite me who can answer this question: can blind people see in their dreams?
“Yes, sometimes they can. My background is in cognitive neuroscience, and I study how the brains of children and young people develop and how this relates to their behaviour. That is exactly why I find this question so interesting.
“People who become blind later in life can still see images in their dreams because their brains previously learnt what visual information looks like. But if you are born blind, your brain has never built up those visual images. You still dream, but for example through sounds, smells and touch. It is a lovely illustration of how ‘seeing’ does not ultimately happen only in your eyes, but primarily in your brain. Fascinating, isn’t it?”
A book, a theatre show and a school programme: it all grew out of the Weekend of Science. Is there still one big ambition you would like to achieve?
“My big dream is for the Hoe?Zo! Show eventually to reach every child in the Netherlands. I would love our teaching materials to be used in schools and for the book to be available in every school library. You do not have to become a scientist to learn how to think scientifically. If every child occasionally asks themselves, ‘How do I actually know whether this is true?’, then we will already have achieved an enormous amount.”
The Hoe?Zo! Show book will be launched at TivoliVredenburg on 25 October. It has been produced independently, and all proceeds will be reinvested in the project. Read on for more information about the book and the Weekend of Science.