It was my very first time speaking to a general audience group on request. It was also the first time I gave my Urban Science Adventures! © schpeel to a live audience. The 7th graders from the St. Louis Public Schools were great. They were attentive and asked lots of questions. Great questions. And they offered several of their own Urban Science Adventures! © stories. Many of the kids had their own sightings of urban wildlife including opossums (both roadkill and alive), rabbits, squirrels, and hawks. One student even saw a porcupine once! I'm jealous. I'm a mammalogist and I've never seen a porcupine!
I presented a short presentation that included photos of urban wildlife scences I've captured right here in St. Louis. The kids were really fascinated by by my hands....not really. But I had 2 classrooms of all boys who were impressed that I was holding a frog, a bird and stood close enough to various types of bugs to photograph them. I capped things off by encouraging them to explore and discover nature in urban areas.
I think shooting local scenes was important. A couple of kids knew this spot exactly.
I love outreach. I really do. It was a blast. I'll be traveling this semester - searching for jobs, attending meetings, connecting with fellow bloggers (science/nature/blogging while brown) and outdoor enthusiasts. I've booked one date already to give a formal talk (the dissertation presentation talk). I'm willing to do travel and do some two-fer presentations - the official science talk and the science outreach presentation.
Also, check out my KETC Science Matters video and let me know what you think.Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement.
DNLee
Demystifying nature, letting everyone experience