When designing programs for science learning, it is important to consider that children's experiences with science begin years before they encounter science in the classroom. Children's developing understanding of science begins in their everyday activities and conversations about the natural and technical world. Children develop "scientific literacy" as they begin to learn the language of science (e.g., concepts such as "gravity" or "metamorphosis"), the kind of causal explanations that are used in scientific theories (e.g., the day-night cycle results from the rotation of the earth), and the
For children to achieve an understanding of science and of the ways of doing science, and for them to be motivated to use these ways in coping with, understanding, and enjoying the physical, biological, and social world around them, it is not enough that they believe that science is practically important. They must also be curious. Curiosity calls attention to interesting, odd, and sometimes important items in the drama that is revealed to us through our senses. Idle or purposeful, curiosity is the motor that interests children in science; it is also the principal motor that energizes and
Classroom tasks should develop a spirit of inquiry and a sense of delight in discovery that will become part of the individual's learning style. Yet in the traditional elementary classroom, the use of worksheets, lectures and basal reading tasks to the exclusion of hands-on, participatory opportunities fails to encourage a child's construction of knowledge. By setting up a problem to be solved, demanding interaction, producing effects from direct actions and allowing variations of approach, cognitive development in children is enhanced. Hands-On Children's Museums encourage contextually