I still remember reaching under my coffee table one evening to pull out the section of the New York Times I had saved, meaning to read an article that had caught my eye about Alan Alda and a contest aimed at explaining science to kids. The article described The Flame Challenge, a contest I had never heard of that pitted scientists against each other to see who could best explain a chosen scientific topic to a 5th-grade audience. It wasn’t trained scientists who would be doing the judging, but rather the 5th graders themselves.
I had recently finished graduate school, and like many others completing a long educational journey, was panic-stricken about what exactly I was going to do with my life. One day, I had an epiphany that I should make it my mission to encourage science literacy in any and every way I could. The fact that I was reading about a group that was trying to do just that made it feel like the stars had aligned. This contest sounded like a perfect start to communicating science on a larger scale.
As I finished the article I thought, I’m sold, how do I enter?
The only problem was I had let that article gather dust for too long under my coffee table (metaphorically of course, my coffee table is spotless) and contest entries were due that very night. Luckily for me, the topic that year was “What is color?”, and I had just finished reading a book geared towards toddlers (my favorite reading material) that mentioned dogs only see three colors. I used that tidbit as inspiration for my entry, which I wrote and rewrote furiously until the last possible second before the deadline. I figured even if it didn’t win, it was an amazing idea for a contest and I was happy to be a part of it.
Given my last minute entry, I was surprised to hear I had made it into the top three for the written category, all of which would be debated and voted on among participating 5th grade classrooms around the world. Watching the live feed of the kids discussing the merits of the different entries and the building excitement just talking about science was a reward in and of itself. But hearing later that I had actually won and would be flown out to New York to receive an award from Alan Alda at the World Science Festival was beyond surreal. The trip was unforgettable, not least of which due to Alan Alda’s genuine curiosity in science as we chatted over lunch. Meeting others who were just as passionate about communicating science was an added bonus, including the winner that same year in the visual category Dianna Cowern (a.k.a. Physics Girl).
To this day, I am still thankful to Alan Alda and the Center for Communicating Science for creating The Flame Challenge and sharing a love of science with kids around the world. Even though Alan Alda started the contest because he received a less than satisfying response to his question of “What is a flame?” when he was a child, it’s incredible to think of all the budding scientists he has inspired just by sparking conversation on the topic. Pun intended.
