Life in the Universe Talk, Auburn, MA

Yesterday I had a fantastic time doing a program for kids at the Auburn Public Library in Auburn, MA! I had given this talk last year in Marlborough, MA, and offered it to Auburn this year. But I decided to give it a bit of an update. While the kids last year had a great time, looking back over my notes, I thought the flow could be better, and there were some things that needed to be put into a different order so they would make more sense. I’m glad I did, because it was such a great talk. The kids were engaged and asked so many questions. They volunteered answers to the questions I asked, and all of them seemed really into it. At the end, I had them draw their own aliens, after they thought about what kind of planet it would live on. There were so many creative and thoughtful ideas. One of my favorite moments was when I was playing a little game of “Is It Alive?” and showed images of a duck, a mountain, a plant, a rock, etc. Well, I showed a picture of sock monkeys, and while the kids laughed and said, “No!,” one of the kids said, “But I wish they were!”

Doing this kind of outreach is so much fun and it’s really rewarding when you can see the kids having fun. Many of the kids drew more than one alien, and they were excited to show them to me. I definitely want to do this program again.