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Sound bite science



In spite of being a contrarian, Bill Allsopp said a lot that I can agree
with ;) One thing I might disagree with is his circus metaphor. If what
Bill meant was several projects going on in the same segment, then I am
deeply worried: Three rings in three minutes works out to a minute per
ring. If what Bill meant was choosing topics in all the disciplines of
science, then I'm all for it (but judging by my affiliation, this may be
seen as conflict-of-interest.)

I strongly suggest that since you are going to be in show business that
you consider borrowing a page from the circus. Three rings (or more) of
activities, in which different things are all going on at once, are far
better than one. Have lots of projects, at all levels of complexity and
areas of interest and skip quickly from one to the other, while leaving
the actual learning, to take place during the building process. This
may not be what you had in mind, but I suspect that you will find that
on the air, you are a "science salesman" who will be selling up features
and not nuts and bolts of learning.

While I'm on my soapbox, here are other factors to consider:
1. The on-air meteorologist (varies from talking-head to passable
scientist) will have more name-recognition than you, so work with them
to advance your agenda.

2. Safety-Safety-Safety: If you do choose the grass-roots science,
think about some of the mishaps if your instructions aren't followed
carefully.

3. Cost: Pick a budget ($5 for instance) and choose your experiment so
that it can be done in a typical household for less than that amount.
Don't price yourself out of an audience I think badly needs reaching.

4. Be sure to take advantage of the "Just send a self-addressed-stamped
envelope..." and the station's website to supplement your on-camera
time. This could get instructions out, and suggest variations for
older/younger children.

5. The American Chemical Society has National Chemistry Week in early
November: Chemists often go out to the schools/malls/whatevers to reach
out to the public, and would love to be "on TV." This year, for
instance, our group made "slime."

6. Tie in with local science fairs. Before science-fair season, you
might want to do a segment on the scientific method. At the end, you
might want to do a segment with one of the strong finishers.

--
___________
Dr. David W. Steyert steyert_dw@mercer.edu
Department of Chemistry (912)-752-4173
Mercer University
Macon, GA 31207
___________