The magic of Science

Physics professor uses videos to spark interests
Thursday, April 2, 2020
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NATCHITOCHES - A professor is using his time away from the lab to keep the public entertained and spark curiosity in youth via video.

Iota native Michael Scanlan, assistant professor of physics at Northwestern State University, regularly uses the Demons’ social media pages to launch scientific videos. He decided at the start of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders to create video tutorials on how to perform various science experiments.

“I saw other people online doing things like live readings to kids, giving free exercise videos and providing online tutoring sessions,” Scanlan said. “I felt we could make a difference through science.”

He understands why people need an outlet or something different to do these days: He and his wife are both working from home while simultaneously caring for their two young children.

“Everyone is tired of having to be home, especially kids,” he said. “This gives a lot of kids the chance to do something they’ve never done before.”

That something has so far included making soap and a lava lamp and growing crystals.

The videos, however, are not so much meant to teach viewers as they are meant to inspire viewers to teach themselves.

“We don’t explain much at all,” he says when it comes to the videos. “We want to spark kids’ interests so they will research what ‘air pressure’ is, for example. Or they might not care about air pressure but find something else they are interested in. We want to engage children in sciences at a young age.”

The activities are educational and affordable. Scanlan said he makes it a point in each experiment to use everyday household items, or items that can be quickly and cheaply obtained at most stores.

This week’s videos focus on the sun, moon and five planets and how each is related to a day of the week.

“I’m highlighting each object with neat facts and information that hopefully sparks the idea for kids to investigate some of these things,” he said. “We encourage you to dig into this stuff because it’s really cool.”

Soon a cooking video will be used to discuss mixing fluids, there will be a demonstration on growing stalactites and another will combine crafts and science to learn about color reflection.

You can find the videos on YouTube by searching for the NSULA Sciences channel.