Skype a Scientist

By Tara K. Miller

“Things do not change; we change.”  

-Henry David Thoreau in Walden

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching has moved online suddenly.  This unexpected and abrupt change gave teachers no time to plan and adjust their curricula to the remote format.  Many are now searching for online resources to find ways to engage their students.  To help out, I signed up with Skype a Scientist, a program that connects scientists with teachers and classrooms.

I virtually visited several classrooms and homes to chat with students about my research and answer their many questions.  Kids have such inquisitive minds, and they wanted to know everything from which animals face extinction due to climate change to whether plants can survive in space.

One class had been learning about plant adaptations to different environments, so I put together a picture quiz where students picked the plant best adapted to the described circumstances.

Examples from a plant adaptations quiz for students

Answers: Clockwise from top left (1, 2, 2, 2)

One 6-year-old boy taught me about ice worms!  These fascinating creatures live in glaciers and snowfields.  They have adapted to survive in cold conditions, and they eat pollen and algae in the ice. 

Ice worms next to a Canadian 10-cent coin for scale (www.arctic.uoguelph.ca)

Remote learning isn’t where most of us want to be, but we’re making the best of it for now.