It's Alive! Taking Science Out of the Classroom

It's Alive! Taking Science Out of the Classroom

『校园外的实验室　大人小孩玩转科学』

　　A new wave of creativity is emerging from the world of natural science, one that washes away the old image of science as boring and replaces it with one of enthusiasm and enjoyment. Making your own pinhole camera, learning about astronomy at a planetarium, and constructing devices from electronic building blocks are all ways to take science out of the classroom and into the real world. This changes science from a plain classroom experience to a fun activity involving the creation of new things. Science is not just the domain of engineering students, and experiments do not always need a lab. A passion for science is now being fostered by some creative online endeavors that combine science and creativity in innovative ways.

　　Hanging above the door of Mr. Sci's Science Toy Factory is the business' logo, which features the words "science is fun" and is accompanied by a cartoon version of the profile of founder Kevin Lin. Lin, who is also the director of Yumaman Creative & Design, explains that science often gives the impression of being difficult to understand, but with a bit of creative design, it can become both fun and beautiful. "And a lot of creative ideas start with science," Lin says.

　　Having grown up with a high school science teacher for a father and surrounded by children's science and nature books, Lin is no stranger to the field. He still remembers playing with a Stirling heat engine as a child, and he believes that many other adults remember their childhood fascination with science as well. After getting his start in interior design in 2008, Lin set up an online store called Mr. Sci's Science Toy Factory, aiming to bring a designer's creativity to science and creating fun, interesting things that would reignite that very hands-on childhood fascination with science.

校园外的实验室

　　一股由自然科学领域吹来的创意新潮流，洗去了科学是相当无趣的旧形象，取而代之的是人们对科学的热忱和享受。制作个人专属的针孔摄影机、在天文馆中学习天文学，以及打造由电子积木组成的设备，这些都是把科学带出教室外并进入真实世界的方法。这也让科学从平凡无奇的教室体验转变为包含打造新事物的有趣活动。科学不光是理工科学生的专属品，而实验也未必只能在实验室中进行。透过某些网络上充满创意的努力，用创新的方式结合科学和创意，让人们培养出对科学的热情。

　　走进《赛先生的科学工厂》，大门上方挂着该企业的标志，上面写着 science is fun（科学十分有趣），另外还有创办人林厚进的卡通版肖像。身兼玉马门创意设计公司总监的林厚进解释道，科学常带给人们难以理解的印象，但若能注入一些创意设计，就能让它变得既有趣又具美感。他说：『许多充满创意的点子都是来自于科学。』

　　林厚进从小和担任高中物理老师的父亲一起长大，他常围绕在科学和自然的童书之中，因此对科学并不陌生。他还依稀记得童年时曾把玩史特林热力发动机，他相信有许多人和他一样，在成年后仍记得儿时沈迷于科学的情景。林厚进在 2008 年由室内设计业起家，之后成立了《赛先生的科学工厂》这家网络商店，他的目标是将设计人的创意带入科学并打造有趣的东西，让人们找回儿时自己动手玩科学的乐趣。