Eclectic Technology

"In Connecticut, first-graders load up toy cars with different amounts of mass, or stuff, and send them racing down ramps, rooting for their favorites to travel the farthest. In Texas, middle school students sample seawater from the Gulf of Mexico. And in Pennsylvania, kindergarten students debate what makes something a seed."

Are these students following the "scientific method" as the learn to make sense of the natural world? According to Gary Garber, a physics teacher at Boston University Academy "The scientific method is a myth" and "was invented by historians and philosophers of science during the last century..."

Is there only one way to 'do science' or are there multiple paths and routes one can follow? This article explores these issues, looking at the practices of science, the upside of mistakes, practicing science at school, and how scientists use the practices of science.