RE Log Fall 2016

14 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2016 Paul Natland ’02 Science Department BS George Washington University It’s more important than ever to prepare students for a world that’s changing. If you go back not even 10 years, as an example, the first iPhone was released in June of 2007. You likely could not have imagined then that our phones could process data the way they can now, and such technological progress is only going to become more astounding as time proceeds. It is not an option to merely prepare students for static content areas; we have to arm them to be creative thinkers so they are equipped to work with science and technology as it changes. To be successful in the future, these skills will be a necessity and we need a space that accom- modates these changes. Ransom Everglades is all about experiential learning and getting stu- dents doing things hands-on, but we don’t have dedicated lab space where kids can explore, do independent research, or try to tackle vexing problems on their own. If we were to get such a space that encourages self-discovery, our students’ imaginations could be the limit. If we have rooms that can change as science evolves, innovative spaces that – rather than limiting students’ curiosity, cause their curiosity – it would give us the opportunity to better prepare them for the uncertainties ahead, and maybe even help project science forward. We could have them coming up with experimental ideas, doing independent research in between class periods, and maybe even publishing articles on work they’ve done at the school, or in collabo- ration with a nearby university – in other words, doing work that would complement or per- haps even rival what’s going on at the university level. The more we can test their boundaries intellectually, the more we can better prepare them for a world that’s constantly changing. On a different note, if you think about when people of any age enter into a science museum, they inevitably experience a feeling of awe. There are so many exciting things that almost seem magical as you immerse yourself in the space. You see different demonstrations, displays that are interactive, and experiments that really bring out the kid in everyone. If you had a space at Ransom Everglades that looked and felt like that, harboring elements that organically got people thinking about science – and about what science actually is – it could really spark their curiosity. One of my favorite quotes from Einstein is that “imagination is more important than knowledge.” We want to have an environment that really can spark their imagination, perhaps turning what may be a small flame into a raging fire. The world needs this. We need people to solve the world’s myriad problems in different ways than we can even currently imagine. It’s going to take quantum shifts in thinking, and we need to help give students the ability to make those quantum shifts. Ransom Everglades is all about experiential learning and getting kids doing things hands-on, but we don’t have dedicated lab space where kids can do independent research or try to tackle vexing problems on their own.