Science as play and discovery: Ed Moriarty brings young minds together at the Faculty of Biology
On one of those cosy, calm Sundays, the Faculty of Biology filled with curious young voices and genuine creative excitement. At the initiative of the Sci High Foundation, an inspiring workshop took place with Ed Moriarty, an instructor at the Edgerton Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The event brought together motivated students from a number of leading schools:
- National High School of Science and Mathematics (NPMG);
- American College of Sofia;
- First English Language School;
- Uwekind International School.
A kindergarten atmosphere with the spirit of real science
Ed turned the lecture hall into a space reminiscent of a creative kindergarten – a place where mistakes are allowed and experimenting is a form of play. On every table, students found a variety of materials to explore: tubes, pendulums, and a specially designed bird that descends powered by nothing but gravity.
Instead of ready-made answers, Ed let the young people explore the materials on their own, guiding them with challenging questions. The students were encouraged to predict the outcome of the objects’ rotation, and even filmed the motion of the pendulum and the spread of sound so they could analyse the results.
The atmosphere was light, Sunday-like, and full of an unobtrusive joy in knowledge.
Learning that brings joy
During the workshop, Ed shared the philosophy at the heart of his work at the Edgerton Center: learning should bring joy and lead naturally to observation and inquiry.
“Science is cultivating in yourself the ability to observe, to notice things no one else has seen, to wonder, to try, to describe, to change, to observe again, and to discover something new”
– he told the young minds.
The event left students, teachers and parents with the sense that true education is born where there is freedom to ask questions, to experiment without fear, and to look at the world through the eyes of a discoverer.