Cool to read Sarah Ebner's SchoolGate column in the LondonTimes on the launch of the Young Scientist Centre at the Royal Institution, a combo of museum, eventspace, playground, and exploratorium. In an inspired strategically philanthropic move, the global cosmetics giant L'Oreal is the prime underwriter for the new Centre which aims to... "...emphasise that science must be more than just facts. [...] "Real science takes time," [says the Centre director] "Sometimes experiments don't work and you have to do them again and that's very time consuming. But it's vital to get a true understanding of the subject. These days it's so easy to download a fact, but do you understand it? What I feel is that sometimes, when things are taught without true experimentation, students don't understand it. And that needs to change. Children can do science at school, but they don't necessarily learn what a real scientist is -- planning an experiment, needing to repeat things, having a clear hypothesis and testing it."Yes, indeed, that trial-and-error, learning-by-doing, and doing-it-yourself ethos is absolutely crucial for every kid everywhere to experience!
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