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A Scientific Look at the World Around Us

It's surprising how much science can be packed into a ten-minute walk to school. I enjoy my morning perambulations with my five-year-old because it gives us a chance to look at the world around us and think about it.

We talk about what the weather is doing, how clouds form, the difference between fog and smog. We peer cautiously at the various items of roadkill, and consider how death and decay is a part of life. We speculate whether the Monarch butterflies fluttering down the road are ones that have hatched from the chrysalises on our swan plants, and whether the last chrysalis of the season will eventually make it into butterfly-hood or just get browner and dry out instead.

Frost on the grass and rainbows reveal the beauty of the water cycle. The late arrival of the Sun over the sea in winter is a practical reminder of Earth's ever-spinning course around our star. The changing bird populations on the estuary mirror changes in the seasons, as do the annual cycle of the tomatoes grown in the large glasshouse on the corner.

These all form a part of our morning conversations. I get a real kick when I ask David why he thinks such-and-such happens and get a gratifying moment of thoughtful silence before he makes the attempt to explain. It's not a matter of getting things "right", though it's a delight when he does. It's more a matter of virtually seeing his thought processes at work, of experiencing that fresh interest when all is new.

We do get odd looks from other pedestrians who are busy hurrying on their way. They see us examining the death mask of a hedgehog by the side of the road or stirring an oily puddle with a stick, but they don't see our joy of discovery as we discuss why a hedgehog's teeth are so sharp or what makes the colours on the puddle's surface. There's an adage that one should "stop and smell the roses" -- but you can do so much more. Why do the roses smell like that? Why aren't roses shaped like cornflowers? Why do they have thorns?

We mightn't be able to answer every question, but it's the journey to those answers that provides the excitement.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.