1. How can careers in science be made to appeal to young people? London Science Centre Report
2. Students meet scientists where they do Science...Xunesis takes IMSA to Northwestern University
3. The time to act is NOW
4. Most students don't have the chance to see science in action..Xunesis VLT's are like being there
5. Connecting science to everyday life...Retrieval in the classroom

How can careers in science be made to appeal to young people?
Researchers survey 11,000 teenagers on their attitudes about science and scientists

Teenagers value the role science plays in society but they feel scientists are "brainy people, not like them," according to research by the Science Learning Centre in London.

Some 70% of the 11,000 11-15 year olds questioned said they did not picture scientists as "normal young and attractive men and women." Around 80% of pupils thought scientists did "very important work" and 70% thought they worked "creatively and imaginatively." Only 40% believed that scientists did "boring and repetitive work." And more than three quarters of the respondents thought scientists were "really brainy people."

Among those who said they would not like to be scientists, reasons included: "Because you would constantly be depressed and tired and not have time for family", and "because they all wear big glasses and white coats and I am female."

Dr. Fani Stylianidou, one of the two researchers, said: "If we can keep young people positive about science but help them to see the full range of scientific careers, more of them may realise that a career in science can be satisfying - and for them."

Read more in the BBC News Article>>>

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Students meet scientists where they do science
Xunesis organized IMSA field trip to Dr. Ken Paller's lab at Northwestern University

Xunesis is finding new ways to make science interesting to everyone and particularly to young people. On February 22 Xunesis arranged a tour of a Northwestern University neuroscience lab for students in Dr. Kirk Hallowell's class at Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA). The students visited Dr. Ken Paller, the Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience program at Northwestern, who studies human memory using electrophysiology, functional imaging and behavioral experiments.

IMSA students learned about memory from Dr. Paller and had the opportunity to see an electrophysiology demonstration-- with their teacher, Dr. Hallowell, as the subject! Students also talked with Dr. Paller and his lab personnel about a variety of neuroscience topics and asked plenty of questions about study and careers in neuroscience and psychology.

See more on the IMSA field trip here>>>

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Most students don't have the chance to see science in action...
Xunesis Virtual Lab Tours take students and the general public to meet scientists in their labs.

Xunesis Virtual Lab Tours are short videos that take you inside the laboratories of major scientists, adding a face and a personality to the excitement of scientific discovery. You learn about the key questions that drive research, see the methods first hand and get the big picture on where a field is heading. Xunesis Virtual Lab Tours provide an exciting introduction for beginning students as well as more in-depth coverage for advanced classes. Learn More Here>>>

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Connecting science to everyday life...
Coupled with projects like Retrieval, Xunesis Virtual Lab Tours make science and scientists real
and help the students and the public connect science to their everyday lives.

Dr. Kirk Hallowell had this to say after his students viewed Retrieval : "In the high school course I teach at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, I'm constantly looking for ways to challenge students to apply scientific concepts to real world issues and applications. We recently watched the Xunesis film Retrieval during a discussion of whether eye-witness testimony can be trusted as evidence in criminal cases when the human memory process is so dynamic. Retrieval helped bring discussion alive by presenting the students with a real world story about characters with whom they could identify. Based on this discussion, I believe that my students have a better ability to interpret human interaction through the lens of neuropsychology. "

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