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Science's Future Practitioners

There's been a lot of despondency in the New Zealand scientific community lately. There are problems with funding, restructuring, staff cutbacks and all those other failings that a slow economy is heir to.

Among the wailing has been the age-old cry of "what will the future bring?" How will New Zealand science and technology survive when we are producing children who cannot read, spell, count or reason?

Those who fear for the future would do well to take a closer look at what our scientists of tomorrow are doing today. It's startling to see the sophistication at even the smallest school science fairs. It's heartening to listen to the enthusiasm emanating from the summer science camps.

We managed to tap into that enthusiasm with an essay competition for those students attending the schools at Otago and Auckland universities. Tell us what you think about science, what it means to you, we said. The responses would make even the hardened cynic feel hopeful.

I know I got the most valuable information regarding my future from the scientists themselves. We were able to talk [to the lecturers] about their personal studies and research, and it was then we saw what science could be.

By far the most encouraging message from the school was that there were so many people dedicating their money, time and effort to young people today so that we can have a positive future, whether we choose science as a career or not. It was amazing to realise that our generation will be leading New Zealand into the twentieth century and that to be technologically leading they needed us. It brightened the future considerably.

So wrote Cara Ferris, from Verdon College in Invercargill. Her sentiments were echoed by many others. Aidan Arnold from King's High School, Dunedin, says he remains undecided about which science he'll take up, but it's certain that being exposed to a broad range of disciplines has given him a better idea of what those disciplines involve:

The sessions you didn't think you would like -- for one reason or another -- you usually found quite interesting. Botany is a prime example -- botanists tend to be thought of as David Bellamy lookalikes, who spend all their time on their hands and knees searching through forests for a new species of plant. The botany session at the school was a pleasant surprise, as was the geology session (another science with a bad reputation).

Even if none of these students continue with their science studies, they will always retain an interest in what scientists are up to. They will have a special feeling for science, tied up with the enthusiasm and exhaustion of their brief immersion into the world of the professional scientist.

Surely there's some hope in that...

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.