On April 18th, undergraduate students from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry hosted a local Cub Scout pack in the Jordan Hall of Science to teach the Scouts about the scientific method. This event was part of a seminar course focused on developing ND students’ scientific communication, education, and outreach skills to non-scientists.
After the traditional opening of the pack meeting, James Clark, Chemistry Lab Program Manager and former Cub Scout, introduced the scientific method by asking the Scouts to make observations and develop a hypothesis about an object that appeared to be a candle. The pack was then split up into their dens (groups based on age) to explore a specific scientific concept in depth.
Cub Scouts in kindergarten through second grade investigated the presence and
spread of pathogens using a powder only visible under ultraviolet light. By creating and testing hypotheses involving different forms of contact, the Scouts learned about transmission and the importance of handwashing. Cub Scouts in third grade made their own fishing poles which they then used in a simulated fishing activity to learn about fish species native to the area and local fishing regulations. Finally, Cub Scouts in fourth and fifth grades investigated the properties of different rocks and minerals in order to identify them. They made observations and performed multiple experiments, including measuring Mohs hardness, and learned to draw conclusions about the rocks they had brought from home from their results.
Coming back together as a large group, the initial observations and hypotheses of the Cub Scouts were tested as James Clark ate the “candle,” which was actually a potato and a nut. The Scouts, just as is often the case in scientific research, had to revise their hypotheses in the face of these new observations, but the journey filled the room with excitement. In addition to helping the Cub Scouts earn a NOVA patch, the students strove to ignite the Scouts’ creativity and impart a sense of wonder and curiosity about the natural world by sharing the love of science through hands-on activities.