Most teachers like to encourage the natural curiosity of their students. Sometimes, clever questions from students can leave us stumped. The Science Master is a wonderful resource that helps students draw their own conclusions about their burning science questions.
What Is The Science Master?
The Science Master website has been set up on Edublogs. It is free and safe. The Science Master is run by a retired teacher and scientist to help curious students the world over. It is designed for students between 7 and 13 years old.
Students are invited to ask a question to receive a personalized response. Their questions will not, in most cases, get a direct answer. The Science Master and his friends will try to give students a pathway that will help them investigate the question at their own level of understanding. Students can be the scientists as they come up with possible solutions.
How Is The Science Master Safe?
- Students are not required to enter their full names or email addresses to ask a question or comment. They can just use their first name or a nickname.
- All questions and comments submitted are moderated before appearing on the site.
How Do You Use The Science Master?
Students might ask a question in class that their teacher and classmates are having difficulty finding an answer to. Alternatively, students might have questions that they’re not confident enough to bring up in class. The Science Master can help.
1. Go to The Science Master website.
2. Search the site to see if your question has already been answered (tip: ask younger students to think of a way they could find this information on a website).
3. If your question has not been answered before, click on Ask a Question. Enter your name or nickname, select your age and ask your question (tip: teachers or parents might like to proofread questions). Press submit.
4. Check back to The Science Master in a few days and look at Our Latest Answers on the right hand side of the page to see if your question is there.
5. Read through your answer from the Science Master. If you have further questions or want to share your discoveries with the Science Master, you are invited to write a comment.
An Example
I was recently teaching some curious grade four students who had some questions for The Science Master.
They thoroughly enjoyed formulating and submitting their questions and were amazed to find personalized responses in a matter of days. The comic format and links to videos and games really resonated with the students.
Alice, Daisy and Eliza asked, “what chemicals make objects glow in the dark?”
The Science Master explained words that end with the term “escence” and suggested an experiment the girls could try with an adult. Click on the image to find The Science Master’s response.
Silas and Zakk wanted to know, “why do volcanoes erupt?”
The Science Master discussed how volcanic eruption is all about pressure. He invited the boys to ask another question if they wanted clarification.
Billie and Zali asked, “how does the activator form slime?”
The Science Master gave an explanation of the chemistry behind slime ingredients and included a video. 
Angus and Lachy wanted to know “are aliens real?”
The Science Master offered a very interesting opinion and also linked to another student question about aliens. 
Freddie and Flynn asked an explosive question: “When the Sun blows up will Mercury smash into Earth?“
Luckily for us, The Science Master doesn’t think this will be happening any time soon and offered some interesting insights into the solar system. He also included a video and asked the boys a question.
Chelsea and Ashli were curious to know, “if all living things were in one food chain, what would be at the top?”
The Science Master linked to a game to learn more about food chains and explained a ranking system called the trophic level.
Students can write a comment on their answers on The Science Master site
An enthusiastic Chelsea couldn’t wait to write to The Science Master…
She enjoyed his prompt reply…
The conversation and learning continued…
A Handout
We have created a simple handout with the instructions for your students.
Maybe you could:
- Display it in your classroom
- Laminate a few copies and hand them to curious students if questions come up during class
- Embed the document on a page on your blog
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Open in new tab Uses in the Classroom
Do you see The Science Master as being useful in your classroom?
Perhaps you could:
- Share this post with colleagues or parents. Some parents might like to submit a question or comment at home with their child.
- Encourage your students to submit a question and then they could write a blog post about it. Or the question and response could form the basis of a larger investigative project.
- Have your students select a previous question/answer on the site that interests them. They could try to come to their own conclusions from the answer.
If you have tried The Science Master or have ideas on how you could apply this resource to your classroom, please leave a comment. We would love to hear from you!
This sounds like a fantastic idea! I think the Science Master website is a great way for students to engage in their learning and pretend to be . My students are usually very curious about specific topics during Science class and by giving them the opportunity to ask questions to the “Science Master” would definitely be an exciting experience for them! I would love to check it out and see how they will react when their burning questions have been answered!
Thanks for sharing.
Sandra
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Sandra. I’m sure your students will love connecting with the Science Master. Have fun!
This seems like a brilliant idea!!
Agree! My students really loved it! 🙂