Science education is now poised for a big change. It has been observed that children are taking up technical and professional courses after their schooling, instead of sciences. Sciences should be given more importance; otherwise the society will stagnate without much progress.
Science education is coming back strongly, as people understood that the change has to come at the base. The base or the foundation is the school.
It was observed that many children go on and take easier route by opting for law and humanities, and the bright students opt for engineering and medicine rather than pure or applied science. Science needs more Einsteins and Bohrs, as the problems of humanity are not yet solved.
Despite making great technological breakthroughs, there are many aspects of humanity that need the assistance of science. Technology and science are great levelers. Mobile phones were considered as expensive gadgets for the rich, Now they are very much ubiquitos mode for communication. This was more of understanding of communication networks, rather an engineering marvel.
Science comes first and then comes the engineering. If there are no discoveries, no path breaking innovations, no disruptive technologies then there would be no progress.
This is where the importance of science lies, and thus science education should be the foremost amongst all subjects during the school.
Science education should emphasize on the visual and experimental aspect of the subject rather than theory. Children should know about the various marvels of science and how scientific breakthroughs are going to shape their future.Though biotechnology has been used since ages, it is only after the discovery of DNA that biotechnology has taken a quantum leap. In the last fifty years, there have been many developments related to biotechnology that have helped cure many diseases, and increase productivity of farms. DNA finger printing an important application of biotechnology has helped trace criminals, and also help identify genetic parents.
The other big field is the field of stem cell research. Stem cells transplantation to cure a variety of diseases that were considered either incurable or expensive to treat. Blindness for example can be cured now with a fair degree of success using stem cells transplantation. Scientists have successfully used the retinal stem cell transplantation into the damaged eyes of patients suffering from blindness.
Alternative sources of energy are of prime importance to mankind. Some of the alternative sources are solar energy, wind based energy, ocean based energy and fuel cells. Fuel cells could be the next generation energy-saving technology to generate electrical power for our homes and cars. The biggest advantage of fuel cell is that it makes power more efficiently and with less pollution.
Science education is going to next level, thanks to pioneering efforts of internet sites like Wonderwhizkids.com. Wonderwhizkids wants to be part of a revolution that will alter the landscape of science by helping kids to learn science in a fun environment.
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