How I Teach Kids to Love Science | Cesar Harada | TED Talks

翻译人员: Huazhe Xie 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

When I was a kid, my parents would tell me,

当我还是个孩子时， 我父母告诉我，

"You can make a mess, but you have to clean up after yourself."

“你可以把东西搞得一团糟， 但是之后你必须收拾好。”

So freedom came with responsibility.

所以自由和责任其实是伴随发生的。

But my imagination would take me to all these wonderful places,

我的想象力会把我带到 一个什么都可以发生的，

where everything was possible.

神奇的地方。

So I grew up in a bubble of innocence --

我在一个充满天真的世界中成长——

or a bubble of ignorance, I should say,

或者应该说是一个无知的世界，

because adults would lie to us to protect us from the ugly truth.

因为大人们会对我们说谎， 来避免我们接触到丑恶的现实。

And growing up, I found out that adults make a mess,

当我们逐渐长大，我发现 其实大人们的世界一团糟，

and they're not very good at cleaning up after themselves.

而且他们并不善于收拾烂摊子。

Fast forward, I am an adult now,

现在，我变成了个大人，

and I teach citizen science and invention at the Hong Kong Harbour School.

我在香港港口小学教科学和发明课。

And it doesn't take too long

没过多久，

before my students walk on a beach and stumble upon piles of trash.

我的学生们走在海滩上的时候， 就发现了成堆的垃圾。

So as good citizens, we clean up the beaches --

作为好公民，我们清理了海滩——

and no, he is not drinking alcohol, and if he is, I did not give it to him.

不，他不是在喝酒， 就算是，酒也不是我给的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so it's sad to say,

很遗憾地说，

but today more than 80 percent of the oceans have plastic in them.

如今超过80%的海洋里有塑料制品。

这是个很可怕的事实。

It's a horrifying fact.

And in past decades,

在过去的几十年里，

we've been taking those big ships out and those big nets,

我们用这些大船拖着大网把垃圾捞出来，

and we collect those plastic bits that we look at under a microscope,

我们把塑料垃圾收集起来， 用显微镜观察，

and we sort them,

然后把它们分类，

and then we put this data onto a map.

之后我们把这些数据写在了一张地图上。

But that takes forever, it's very expensive,

但那要花很长时间，成本也非常高，

and so it's quite risky to take those big boats out.

而且开那些大船是很危险的。

So with my students, ages six to 15,

所以我，和我的6到15岁的学生们，

we've been dreaming of inventing a better way.

一直都梦想创造一个更好的办法。

So we've transformed our tiny Hong Kong classroom into a workshop.

于是，我们把在香港的 一个小教室变成了一个工作室。

And so we started building this small workbench,

然后我们就开始建造这个小工作台，

with different heights, so even really short kids can participate.

把它们做成不同的高度，就算是个子矮的 小朋友也可以参加进来了。

And let me tell you, kids with power tools are awesome and safe.

告诉你们吧，拿着电动工具的孩子们 其实很酷炫而且很安全。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

开个玩笑。

Not really.

And so, back to plastic.

咱们回到塑料制品那个话题。

We collect this plastic and we grind it to the size we find it in the ocean,

我们收集了一些塑料制品然后把它们 磨成了在海里找到它们时的大小，

which is very small because it breaks down.

特别特别小，因为它们在海里都分解了。

And so this is how we work.

我们是这么做的。

I let the imaginations of my students run wild.

我让我的学生们充分发挥想象力。

And my job is to try to collect the best of each kid's idea

而我的工作就是尽量收集 每个孩子最好的想法，

and try to combine it into something that hopefully would work.

然后试着去把这些想法和一些 期望能行的通的东西结合起来。

And so we have agreed that instead of collecting plastic bits,

之后我们就达成了一致， 我们不收集塑料品了，

we are going to collect only the data.

我们决定仅仅收集数据。

So we're going to get an image of the plastic with a robot --

我们打算用机器人来获取 塑料制品的图片——

so robots, kids get very excited.

有了机器人，孩子们简直兴奋死了。

And the next thing we do -- we do what we call "rapid prototyping."

我们的下一步工作—— 我们称之为“快速原型设计”。

We are so rapid at prototyping

我们的原型设计做得非常快，

that the lunch is still in the lunchbox when we're hacking it.

以至于我们午饭还没吃完， 饭盒就被征用了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And we hack table lamps and webcams, into plumbing fixtures

我们把桌灯和网络摄像头 装到了卫生洁具上，

and we assemble that into a floating robot that will be slowly moving through water

然后把它们组装在漂浮机器人上， 机器人会在水面上缓缓移动，

and through the plastic that we have there --

穿过水面上的塑料漂浮物——

and this is the image that we get in the robot.

这就是我们用机器人得到的照片。

So we see the plastic pieces floating slowly through the sensor,

我们可以看到塑料碎片缓缓地 流经感应器，

and the computer on board will process this image,

内置的计算机就会分析这些影像，

and measure the size of each particle,

并且计算出每个颗粒的大小，

so we have a rough estimate of how much plastic there is in the water.

所以我们就能对水中塑料品的数量 有一个粗略的估计了。

So we documented this invention step by step

我们在一个叫Instructables的 发明家网站上

on a website for inventors called Instructables,

一步一步地记录下我们的发明，

in the hope that somebody would make it even better.

希望有人可以继续完善它。

What was really cool about this project was that the students saw a local problem,

这个项目的精彩之处在于， 孩子们自己看到了当地的问题，

and boom -- they are trying to immediately address it.

然后灵光一现——他们就马上开始 试着去解决这个问题了。

[I can investigate my local problem]

（我可以研究本地的问题）

But my students in Hong Kong are hyperconnected kids.

不过，我在香港的学生是 非常与时俱进的孩子。

他们常看新闻， 他们会上网，

And they watch the news, they watch the Internet,

and they came across this image.

然后他们就看到了这张照片。

This was a child, probably under 10, cleaning up an oil spill bare-handed,

这是一个大概不到10岁的孩子， 在徒手清理流出的油污，

in the Sundarbans, which is the world's largest mangrove forest in Bangladesh.

地点在孟加拉国，拥有世界最大的 红树林的孙德尔本斯地区。

So they were very shocked,

孩子们感到非常震惊，

because this is the water they drink, this is the water they bathe in,

因为这里的水就是当地人喝的水， 他们也常在这里洗澡，

this is the water they fish in -- this is the place where they live.

在这里钓鱼—— 这是他们赖以生存的地方。

And also you can see the water is brown, the mud is brown and oil is brown,

现在你们可以看到水是棕色的， 泥土是棕色的，油污也是棕色的，

so when everything is mixed up,

当所有的东西都掺在一起时，

it's really hard to see what's in the water.

很难分清水里有什么东西。

But, there's a technology that's rather simple,

但是，有一项相当简单的技术，

that's called spectrometry,

叫做光谱测定法，

that allows you see what's in the water.

可以让你看清水中物质的成分。

所以我们就做了一个分光仪的 简单原型，

So we built a rough prototype of a spectrometer,

and you can shine light through different substances

让光线透过不同的物质，

that produce different spectrums,

产生不同的光谱，

so that can help you identify what's in the water.

这样就能帮你分辨水里的东西了。

So we packed this prototype of a sensor,

我们就把这个感应器的原型打包好，

and we shipped it to Bangladesh.

寄到了孟加拉国。

So what was cool about this project

这个项目有意思的地方在于

was that beyond addressing a local problem,

这不只是解决一个本地问题，

or looking at a local problem,

或者研究一个本地问题了，

my students used their empathy and their sense of being creative

我的学生们用他们的同情心 和丰富的想象力

to help, remotely, other kids.

远程帮助了其他的孩子。

[I can investigate a remote problem]

（我可以解决一个远方的问题了）

So I was very compelled by doing the second experiments,

我做第二个实验时有一种 很强的使命感，

and I wanted to take it even further --

想要更进一步——

maybe addressing an even harder problem, and it's also closer to my heart.

或许我们可以解决一个更加困难， 同时也是我打心底里想研究的问题。

So I'm half Japanese and half French,

我是日法混血，

and maybe you remember in 2011 there was a massive earthquake in Japan.

可能你们还记得在2011年 日本遭受了一次很强的地震。

It was so violent that it triggered several giant waves --

地震破坏力很强，还引发了惊天巨浪——

they are called tsunami --

也就是海啸——

and those tsunami destroyed many cities on the eastern coast of Japan.

海啸破坏了日本东边沿海地区的 很多城市。

More than 14,000 people died in an instant.

一瞬间，超过一万四千人失去了生命。

Also, it damaged the nuclear power plant of Fukushima,

而且，海啸还摧毁了福田核电站，

the nuclear power plant just by the water.

一个建在海边的核电站。

And today, I read the reports

今天，我读了一些报告，

and an average of 300 tons

知道了大概300吨的核污水

从核电站流到了太平洋。

are leaking from the nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

And today the whole Pacific Ocean has traces of contamination of cesium-137.

今天，整个太平洋都 受到了铯-137的污染。

如果你去美国的西海岸， 到处都能够发现福岛核泄露的痕迹。

If you go outside on the West Coast, you can measure Fukushima everywhere.

But if you look at the map, it can look like most of the radioactivity

但如果你从地图上看， 你会看到似乎大部分的放射物质

has been washed away from the Japanese coast,

都从日本海岸冲走了，

and most of it is now -- it looks like it's safe, it's blue.

现在核泄露的大部分—— 看起来都是安全的，因为是蓝色的。

Well, reality is a bit more complicated than this.

然而，现实要比这复杂得多。

So I've been going to Fukushima every year since the accident,

自从那次事故以来，我每年都会去福岛，

and I measure independently and with other scientists,

我和其他的科学家一起， 在陆地上、在水里

on land, in the river --

进行独立调查——

and this time we wanted to take the kids.

这次我想带上孩子们。

当然我们没有真的把孩子们带过去， 家长们不会让我们这样做的。

So of course we didn't take the kids, the parents wouldn't allow that to happen.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But every night we would report to "Mission Control" --

但每晚我们都要向“任务控制部”汇报，

different masks they're wearing.

他们带着不同的面具。

It could look like they didn't take the work seriously, but they really did

看起来好像他们并没有认真工作， 但其实不然，

because they're going to have to live with radioactivity their whole life.

因为他们一辈子都要在这种 放射性的环境下生活。

And so what we did with them

我们跟他们一起做的工作

is that we'd discuss the data we collected that day,

就是研究我们当天收集的数据，

and talk about where we should be going next --

并且讨论我们下一步该做什么——

strategy, itinerary, etc...

策略、行程等等······

And to do this, we built a very rough topographical map

于是，我们做了一个 核电站周围区域的

of the region around the nuclear power plant.

很简单的地形图。

And so we built the elevation map,

我们做了这个高程图，

we sprinkled pigments to represent real-time data for radioactivity,

在上面撒上颜料 来代表核放射的实时数据，

and we sprayed water to simulate the rainfall.

我们还会喷水来模拟下雨。

And with this we could see that the radioactive dust

用这种方法我们看到了放射性尘埃

was washing from the top of the mountain into the river system,

被雨水从山顶冲到了河流里，

and leaking into the ocean.

最后流向大海。

So it was a rough estimate.

这只是个粗略的估算。

But with this in mind, we organized this expedition,

基于这种方法， 我们组织了一次探索活动，

which was the closest civilians have been to the nuclear power plant.

这也是公民们距离核电站 最近的一次了。

We are sailing 1.5 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant,

我们在离核电站1.5公里远的地方航行，

and with the help of the local fisherman,

在当地渔民的帮助下，

we are collecting sediment from the seabed

我们用自己发明制作的

with a custom sediment sampler we've invented and built.

沉淀物采样器在海底 收集了一些沉淀物。

We pack the sediment into small bags,

我们把这些沉淀物打成一个个的小包，

we then dispatch them to hundreds of small bags

然后把这数百个小包封装好

that we send to different universities,

寄给了很多大学，

and we produce the map of the seabed radioactivity,

我们做出了这个 海床放射活动的地图，

especially in estuaries where the fish will reproduce,

特别是在鱼类繁殖的河口地区，

and I will hope that we will have improved

我希望我们所做的这些

the safety of the local fishermen and of your favorite sushi.

可以使当地的渔民和你们最爱的寿司 安全一点。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You can see a progression here --

你们可以看到我们的进步——

we've gone from a local problem to a remote problem to a global problem.

我们从本地问题开始， 到外地的问题，最后再到世界问题。

And it's been super exciting to work at these different scales,

做这些不同规模项目的感觉 真的特别爽，

我们使用的技术也是 非常简单和开源的。

with also very simple, open-source technologies.

But at the same time, it's been increasingly frustrating

但同时，我们也逐渐地感觉有些沮丧，

because we have only started to measure the damage that we have done.

因为我们现在做的仅仅是测量 我们过去所造成的危害。

We haven't even started to try to solve the problems.

我们还没有开始解决这些问题。

And so I wonder if we should just take a leap

所以我想知道， 我们能不能有一个飞跃，

and try to invent better ways to do all these things.

想出一些更好的办法来解决这些问题呢？

And so the classroom started to feel a little bit small,

然后教室就显得有点小了，

so we found an industrial site in Hong Kong,

我们找了香港的一处废弃工厂，

and we turned it into the largest mega-space

然后把它变成了一个最大的多用空间，

focused on social and environmental impact.

专门来研究社会和环境影响。

It's in central Hong Kong,

这是在香港市中心，

and it's a place we can work with wood, metal, chemistry,

是一个我们可以做木工、 金工和化学实验的地方，

a bit of biology, a bit of optics,

还可以做一些生物学和光学的实验，

basically you can build pretty much everything there.

在那里，基本上你什么都可以做。

这是一个大人和孩子 可以一起玩的地方。

And its a place where adults and kids can play together.

It's a place where kids' dreams can come true,

这是一个在大人的帮助下，

with the help of adults,

孩子们可以梦想成真的地方，

在这里，大人们也返老还童了。

and where adults can be kids again.

Student: Acceleration! Acceleration!

学生们：加油！加油！

塞萨尔·原田： 我们经常提出这样的问题，

Cesar Harada: We're asking questions such as,

我们可以打造一个利用可再生能源的 移动设备的未来吗？

can we invent the future of mobility with renewable energy?

这是一个例子。

For example.

Or, can we help the mobility of the aging population

还有，我们能把非常常见的轮椅 变成很酷的电动车，

by transforming very standard wheelchairs into cool, electric vehicles?

让老年人的行动更加方便吗？

So plastic, oil and radioactivity are horrible, horrible legacies,

塑料制品、油污和核辐射 都是非常非常可怕的残留物，

but the very worst legacy that we can leave our children is lies.

但是最最可怕的 还是我们对孩子们说的谎话。

We can no longer afford to shield the kids from the ugly truth

我们不能再对孩子们隐瞒丑恶的真相了，

because we need their imagination to invent the solutions.

因为我们需要他们解决问题的想象力。

So citizen scientists, makers, dreamers --

所以，科学家们、制造商们、 梦想家们——

we must prepare the next generation

我们必须让我们的下一代开始

that cares about the environment and people,

关心现在的环境和人们，

and that can actually do something about it.

这样他们就可以采取行动解决问题了。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）