This lesson is about how science can take all of these different forms and not just experiments.
So I was always taught that science was experiments where you did this step-by-step method called the scientific method.
As a scientist, I never used the scientific method, I never followed a specific step-by-step process.
And I saw the same with other scientists...it is not really the truth about how all science works.
The steps of the "scientific method" are a part of science, but it is not all of science.
And science is definitely not just old guys in labs by themselves mixing chemicals!
What does real science look like?
It is as diverse as the people on this planet! Everybody does science in their own way. And it is as diverse as the things they study.  (On earth, in space, or imagined in their head.)
So really, that is almost infinite. Any type of science could be out there. So if you are not interested in science from science class, you probably are interested in something in the real world, and there is a science to it (video games, sports, etc.).
So don't tune out of SCIENCE completely, even if you don't like science class!
For me it was cave exploration. I loved caves, they mesmerized me and I wanted to learn more about how they formed and what they were.
Most any type of science activity can be classified into four groups (listed...read from slide or assignment in Google Classroom).
Note that experiments and observation investigations are investigations - careful studies, collection of data need to be done (not just observing - it has to be a true careful investigation).
Science -related: Something in the news (or an activity) that ties to science but is not an investigation.
Example: Maybe there is a sinkhole that swallows a house. It is science-related news but not an investigation.
So we are doing this for media literacy (read slide).
You are immersed in a world of media. That media can try to influence you. We want you to be experts at picking out what is going on.
What is their claim? What evidence do they have? Is it good evidence? Can I trust what they are presenting?
If I am going to change what I do in my life based on information, I want it to be for information that I can trust and find to be reliable.
(read slide)
Doing examples: Read each slide and pick out which type of science it is!
The guy tried different polymers to see which would make the biggest bubble.
Experiment because: He did a test and changed something on purpose. He controlled the situation for the test. "If I change the polymer type, how does it affect the size of the bubble."
(Read and figure out which type of science...)
In this article, they found a pink-colored manta ray.
They didn't actually go in and study the ray, so I said it was more "science-y" but it was close to being observation science (especially if they had done an investigation tracking its movements).
Although it had observations, they didn't do an investigation (such as collecting a skin sample to show a mutation caused the pink).
In this one, they used a jet plane observatory to take careful measurements of a space object.
I called that observation science because they did collect data.
They didn't go out in space and experiment (try different things in space).
They just observed what was there.
And they did take careful measurements, so it counts as an investigation.
This was technology development (making face mask / shield equipment using 3-D printer).
For this one, they observed that earthquke waves decreased when people stopped moving around due to coronavirus.
Observational science: they measured something that was already happening (and took careful measurements of it).
(read instructions on slide)
