Making science fun with YouTube videos and science fairs

While at the Google Science Fair on Monday, I spoke to one of the judges, Tierney Thys, a marine biologist and explorer with National Geographic about the importance of science education.

Untitled from Boonsri Dickinson on Vimeo.

"[National Geographic] is all about education, about coming to understand the world in a very intimate way so we can protect our natural resources and build a sustainable future. We see this as a common mission to excite kids about knowing the world through science," Thys told me during the happy hour, right before the judges announced the winners of the fair.

Education is becoming a lot more collaborative and hands-on. The Exploratorium in San Francisco paved the way for hands-on science museums around the world. But what is happening online? After searching the web for good science education, a biology teacher by the name of Dee Boersma stood out. Boersma wanted her students to understand that there are creative ways to express science to the public, so she asked them to make videos and post them on YouTube. Some students dropped out, but those who stayed the course had stunning results.

The video below was created by Andy Heye, and it shows the effects of using your computer late at night - something we've all been guilty of.

“If these students go into a field that is science related, their challenge will be to get their information out to the public. My goal is to help them better understand the process of sharing scientific information. These YouTube videos are just a start,” University of Washington's Boersma said in a statement.

Some of the other videos from class include a bird who has an identity crisis and Joker, staring as tuberculosis invading an immune system.

Hank Kim is the student behind the bird video:

Biology Students Create Science Videos [University of Washington]

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com