Life in Science
Film still courtesy of ParnassusWorks Foundation.
On Thursday, the Festival held a special event in partnership with the Global Nomads Group and the ParnassusWorks Foundation. Students groups from high schools around North America screened the documentary Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist, an intense, heartfelt and at times humorous portrait of life in a molecular biology lab. Then they came together via videoconference and engaged in an informative and inspiring conversation with the filmmakers—scientist-turned-filmmaker Richard Rifkind and author/educator Carole Rifkind—and one of the featured characters from the film, Rob Townley, who was a grad student in the lab during the period in which it was filmed.
The students—from East Flatbush, NY, South Plantation, FL, and Calgary, Canada—were fantastic, and contributed some incredibly moving comments about the effect the film and the dialogue had on them, and about the importance of science in their lives. They wanted to talk about everything from the art of storytelling, to the patience required to go pursue the PhD track in science, to the impact each of them could make on the world. Many of them declared that after seeing Rob overcome obstacles and ignore setbacks in his quest for a PhD, they were inspired to to “never give up” in any pursuit.
The teacher from the Westmount Charter School in Calgary reported that the students “really enjoyed the experience, especially listening to Rob…. He gave the kids some very good insights and they could have spent more time listening to him. Congratulations to everyone for creating the movie—it’s a great idea!”
One student from the Kurt Hahn School in East Flatbush declared, “I’ve always been good in science, but now after taking part in this videoconference, I am really excited to learn more about science!”
Please stay tuned for clips from the discussion.
Update 6.19.09: Bill Latour, biology teacher at Kurt Hahn High School, declared, “I want to thank you for an awesome experience. My students were blown away and the staff including the Principal received earfuls of positive feedback about the experience and would love to do it again soon.”