• Question: how old are you when you got an interest in science?

    Asked by lauren to Claire, Franco, Koi, Linda, Mark on 11 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Franco Falcone

      Franco Falcone answered on 11 Jun 2016:

      Hi Lauren

      I cannot define the exact moment, but certainly I realised that I was quite interested in Biology while still at school, maybe around 14-15 years of age.
      We were doing some research about the structure of the muscle (Actin, myosin etc.) and about bacteriophages,and I remember spending a lot of time making drawings which I probably still have somewhere at my parents home.

      We had a good Biology teacher and that will certainly have played a role. I liked organic chemistry , but less than biology, and I did like physics, but not as much as Biology. But I have to say that I also enjoyed other topics such as Latin, History, even Geography (again – good teacher!).

    • Photo: Mark Booth

      Mark Booth answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      Hi Lauren

      I was about 14-15 when I became really interested in Biology at school. I was fascinated by learning how cells work and how that translates into how whole organisms work. I was more interested in animals than plants so took my interest into zoology at University, covering all aspects of animal biology.

    • Photo: Linda Anagu

      Linda Anagu answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      Ha, a difficult question to answer indeed Lauren, as I remember my Mum, aunties and friends calling me a scientist and sometimes a professor at the young age of about 9. Some friends sarcastically call me this instead of a nerd. However, I remember building an electric bell at the age of 13 (this made me very popular) and wanting to be a pharmacist at the age of 15 and that was when I decided that I want to discover something unique that will provide a solution to a disease problem.

    • Photo: Arporn Wangwiwatsin

      Arporn Wangwiwatsin answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      I have always enjoy science subjects for as long as I remember BUT it was purely because I got good marks on those subjects and I seemed to remember the contents well…compared to literature and sociology subjects. It was not until I was about 17 years old (by which point I already decided to go for a career in design and architect) that I was taught by a biology teacher who showed me that studying biology is more than remembering names and facts but the systems are all interconnected like a giant web. And biology become much more interesting after that.

      After that I think science just become much more interesting in general but I’m more attracted toward biology possibly because I can feel the liveliness of the living things!

    • Photo: Claire Bourke

      Claire Bourke answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      I think I reolised that I was interested in ‘science’ before I knew that that is what it was called! Science is a way of understanding the world around us, so even when I was very small picking up worms and woodlice, collecting conkers, watching how salt melts snow and how cuts and bruises heal, what I was really doing was watching natural science experiments! I developed my interest further at school, at a local wildlife club run by The Wildlife Trust and by watching nature documentaries on TV.

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