High school science teacher Tyler DeWitt was ecstatic about a lesson plan on bacteria (how cool!) — and devastated when his students hated it. The problem was the textbook: it was impossible to understand. He delivers a rousing call for science teachers to ditch the jargon and extreme precision, and instead make science sing through stories and demonstrations. (Filmed at TEDxBeaconStreet.) TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more. Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at www.ted.com Follow TED news on Twitter: www.twitter.com Like TED on Facebook: www.facebook.com Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Astrophysicist and space exploration advocate Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke on March 7, 2012 before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Before Dr. Tyson spoke, NASA administrator Charles Bolden testified to this committee. You can watch that testimony at www.youtube.com The event was webcast live and is in the public domain. Visit our web site at www.spaceksc.com. We’re on Twitter at @spacekscblog. UPDATE April 22, 2012 — Lots of folks have posted comments lamenting the lack of interest by these Senators. What can you do? Join the National Space Society at www.nss.org. This is a nationwide grassroots space advocacy group. You might also want to read a book by Shawn Lawrence Otto titled, “Fool Me Twice Fighting the Assault on Science in America.” His web site is www.shawnotto.com. Mr. Otto writes that less than 2% of Congress has a science background, and the overwhelming majority are lawyers trained to argue their client’s position, not for the truth. Posting a complaint on YouTube doesn’t solve the problem. Everyone needs to become involved. Demand that your representatives in Congress support science and properly fund NASA, otherwise you won’t vote for them. That’s the only way you’ll get their attention. You might also want to watch Dr. Tyson’s address to the National Space Symposium on April 17. It’s on YouTube at http He specifically talks about the above video, at about 10 minutes into the recording. He learned that the Senators don’t …
Video Rating: 4 / 5