Vancouver’s Science World recently employed an ad campaign aimed at drawing in kids with the power of neat (and gross) factoids.
I appreciate science, I really do. After all, what’s not to like about a community of brilliant people who spend their time figuring out ways to fix the world’s problems (and blow stuff up better)? Even so, I’d be lying if I were to say that the actual process of scientific research leaves me anything short of snoring bored. Despite the best efforts of my many science teachers, I’ve never been able to develop the sort of mind necessary to look at actual science and equate it with a good time. Put shortly, I might love lasers and spaceships but I could give less than half a hoot about how they work.
Perhaps it’s that mindset, in turn, that makes me appreciate the he advertising efforts of Science World in Vancouver, Canada. Perhaps recognizing that the world has more than its fair share of dopes like me, it launched an eye catching ad campaign aimed at grabbing kid’s attention with interesting (and occasionally juvenile) factoids that they can then learn more about by visiting Science World. For instance, did you know that “cat pee glows under black light?” Or that the human body farts “a balloon’s worth of gas” every day? And now that you do, don’t you want to know more? Such is the brilliance of what Science World has done.
Granted, you could probably make an argument that stooping to a lower common denominator sullies the forward thinking mission of science. That said, as one of the ads states, “learning about farts is still learning.” In other words, what does it matter if someone’s doorway into a wider world is built with snot, cat urine and tiger-sized litter boxes? When you’re dealing with people (especially kids) who might understandably find science daunting, it’s getting them to turn the doorknob that’s important.
Source: The Mary Sue
