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02 January 2004

Editorial: Doing Science in 2004

by Forrest M. Mims III

Many potential amateur scientists prefer reading about science to actually doing science. That's fine, for in today's era it is essential for the public to be well acquainted with scientific matters.

Yet I know from experience than many observers and lurkers can do real science. Some can make discoveries and produce findings worthy of publication in scientific journals.

There could be are various reasons that people very informed about science limit their participation to reading, web surfing on televised documentaries. Time is always a barrier in today's fast moving society. A lack of ideas about what to observe or study is another.

Some potential amateur scientists might think that they lack the academic qualifications of financial resources to do serious science. Others might think no one will pay attention to anything they discover.

For proof none of these objections stands in the way of doing serious science, visit a school science fair. Chances are that you will find at least a few projects worthy of serious study. Visit a regional or State science fair and you'll find dozens of such projects.

The point, of course, is that many teenaged students are doing serious science projects. Some of them are even publishing their findings in peer-reviewed journals of science.

There's no better time to commit to doing a serious science project than the beginning of a new year. After tinkering around with various homemade sunlight monitoring instruments in 1988 and 1989, I made the decision to do serious science with these instruments at the beginning of 1990. Little did I know that what began as a simple set of measurements using equally simple instruments would lead to scientific papers and assignments from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The arrival of 2004 marks the beginning of the fifteenth year of making Sun and sky measurements from a South Texas field I call Geronimo Creek Observatory. If you are not now doing a science project, won't you join me by making your own set of measurements beginning this year?

There's certainly plenty to measure. You might begin with recording environmentally significant happenings, such as precipitation events, first and last snow fall, spring bud burst, number of lightning strokes, dimensions of leaves of specific plants, tree girth, acorn size and mass and hundreds more.

What you measure is less important than simply measuring. Keep up the measurements for 5 years or more, and you may have enough data to write a scientific report or paper. If the science magazines and journals don't want your findings, then publish them yourself on a web site or send them to the E-Bulletin for us to consider publishing.

In coming installments, I'll have more to say about doing science. Meanwhile, let's do some science in 2004.