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

Translator: Juliana So Reviewer: Alan Watson

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

當我仲係一個細路嘅時候 我父母同我講 ︰

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

「你可以將地方搞亂， 但你要執返好佢。」

So freedom came with responsibility.

所以，自由嘅代價係責任

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

我嘅想像力會將我帶到 所有呢啲咁美好嘅地方

where everything was possible.

呢啲地方乜嘢都有可能

So I grew up in a bubble of innocence --

所以我係天真咁長大

or a bubble of ignorance, I should say,

或者無知咁長大

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

因為大人總係會講大話 唔話俾我知羞陋嘅真相

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

當我長大，我發現大人都會將啲嘢搞亂

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

但佢哋唔係好識得收拾亂局

Fast forward, I am an adult now,

我宜家已經係一個成年人

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

我喺香港港灣小學教平民科學同發明課

And it doesn't take too long

冇幾耐

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

我嘅學生就喺沙灘度跆到好多垃圾

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

作為好公民，我哋清理沙灘上嘅垃圾

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

呀唔係，佢唔係喺度飲酒

就算係，我都唔俾佢飲

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And so it's sad to say,

雖然講出嚟有啲悲哀

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

但確實今日超過八成嘅海洋 都有塑膠垃圾

呢個係好可怕嘅事實

It's a horrifying fact.

And in past decades,

喺過去幾十年

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

我哋開船，用大嘅網

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

撈起海裡面嘅塑膠

跟住將佢哋擺喺顯微鏡下觀察

and we sort them,

我哋將佢哋分類

and then we put this data onto a map.

然後將所得資料以地圖形式表達

But that takes forever, it's very expensive,

但呢樣需要非常多嘅時間，成本都好高

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

所以用呢啲船好冒險

So with my students, ages six to 15,

我同我嘅學生，由六歲到十五歲不等

we've been dreaming of inventing a better way.

我哋一直諗住發明一個 更好嘅方法嚟處理垃圾

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

所以我哋將呢個細細嘅課室 變成一個工作室

And so we started building this small workbench,

我哋開始起呢個細嘅工作檯

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

高度係可以調較

咁樣冇咁高嘅學生都可以用張檯

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

等我話你知

細路用工具其實好勁同好安全

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

啱啱講笑

Not really.

And so, back to plastic.

所以，返到去塑膠呢個主題

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

我哋收集塑膠

將佢磨到海上塑膠垃圾嘅大小

which is very small because it breaks down.

即係磨到非常之細

因為海上面嘅塑膠分解咗

And so this is how we work.

呢個就係我哋做嘅方式

I let the imaginations of my students run wild.

我俾學生自由發揮想像

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

我嘅工作就係由集合 佢哋每一個最好嘅諗法

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

整成一個行得通嘅方法

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

所以我哋決定唔收海面垃圾

we are going to collect only the data.

改為收集相關數據

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

我哋會用機械人去影塑膠垃圾

so robots, kids get very excited.

一提到機械人，小朋友就好雀躍

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

下一步我哋好快咁做一個模型出嚟

We are so rapid at prototyping

我哋做模型做得超快

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

午餐啲飯仲喺個飯盒度就切好曬啲嘢

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And we hack table lamps and webcams, into plumbing fixtures

我哋將枱燈同網路攝錄機 安裝到水管系統上面

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

然後將佢裝落去一個可以 喺水面垃圾之中

慢慢移動嘅機械人

and through the plastic that we have there --

由我哋收集到嘅塑膠垃圾影像

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

呢張係機械人影到嘅嘢

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

我哋見到一啲塑膠慢慢流過個感應器

and the computer on board will process this image,

機械人上面嘅電腦會分析影像

and measure the size of each particle,

計算出每件塑膠嘅大細

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

所以我哋可以粗略估算 水裡邊有幾多塑膠

So we documented this invention step by step

我哋將呢個發明全部紀錄低

on a website for inventors called Instructables,

放上一專為發明者而設嘅網站 Instructables 度

in the hope that somebody would make it even better.

希望有人可以改良佢

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

呢個項目有趣在於 學生見到一個本地問題

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

然後佢哋就即刻解決佢

[I can investigate my local problem]

（我可以研究本地嘅問題）

But my students in Hong Kong are hyperconnected kids.

但我香港嘅學生好識得用網絡

佢哋會睇新聞、 上網

And they watch the news, they watch the Internet,

然後佢哋搵到呢張相

and they came across this image.

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

一個大概十歲樓下嘅細路

喺孟加拉孫德爾本斯 全世界最大嘅紅樹林

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

徒手清理油污

So they were very shocked,

我嘅學生都非常震訝

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

因為呢度嘅水都係 當地居民飲用、洗澡用嘅水

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

佢哋都喺呢個水域捕魚

呢度就係佢哋住嘅地方

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

你可以見到水、泥土同油污都係啡色

so when everything is mixed up,

所以當所有嘢都被油覆蓋時

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

好難望到水裡面有咩

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

不過有一種幾簡單嘅科技

that's called spectrometry,

叫做光譜測量

可以俾你望到水裡面有咩嘢

that allows you see what's in the water.

所以我哋做咗個 未算好準確嘅光譜測量儀

So we built a rough prototype of a spectrometer,

and you can shine light through different substances

你可以用光照唔同嘅物質

that produce different spectrums,

然後就可以得出唔同嘅光吸收譜

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

咁樣就可以幫你分辨出水裡面有咩物質

So we packed this prototype of a sensor,

我哋將呢個測量儀包好

and we shipped it to Bangladesh.

寄去孟加拉

So what was cool about this project

呢個項目有趣在

was that beyond addressing a local problem,

佢唔只係解決一個本地問題

or looking at a local problem,

或者研究一個本地問題

my students used their empathy and their sense of being creative

我嘅學生用佢哋嘅同理心同創意

to help, remotely, other kids.

去幫助遠方嘅其他小朋友

[I can investigate a remote problem]

（我可以研究一個喺好遠地方嘅問題）

So I was very compelled by doing the second experiments,

所以做完第二個實驗之後 我得到好多動力

and I wanted to take it even further --

我想將更推進一步

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

可能係解決更複雜嘅問題

都係我想做嘅事情

So I'm half Japanese and half French,

我係日法混血兒

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

你可能會記得 2011 年 日本嗰場好強嘅地震

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

嚴重到引發咗好幾波巨浪

they are called tsunami --

就係海嘯

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

海嘯摧毀咗日本東邊好多沿岸城市

More than 14,000 people died in an instant.

超過 14,000 人喺一瞬那喪生

Also, it damaged the nuclear power plant of Fukushima,

海嘯亦都令座落喺海邊嘅 福島核電廠損毀

the nuclear power plant just by the water.

And today, I read the reports

今日我睇報告話

and an average of 300 tons

大約 300 噸核污水

由核電廠流到太平洋

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

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

所以今日成個太平洋 都有微量嘅銫 -137 元素

如果你去美國西岸

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

周圍都可以量度到嚟自福島嘅輻射

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

但當你睇返地圖，似乎大部分嘅核輻射

has been washed away from the Japanese coast,

都被海水沖離日本海岸

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

好似宜家大部分輻射都安全

Well, reality is a bit more complicated than this.

但其實情況係比較複雜嘅

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

核災以嚟我每年都會到福島一次

and I measure independently and with other scientists,

我同其他科學家一齊進行獨立調查

on land, in the river --

喺土地上，喺河流裡面

and this time we wanted to take the kids.

今次我哋想帶埋細路

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

當然我哋冇帶小朋友去

父母都唔肯俾佢哋去

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

但每晚我哋會報告俾「行動總部」知

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

different masks they're wearing.

佢哋戴唔同面具

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

睇起上嚟佢哋唔係好認真工作

但其實佢哋係好認真

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

因為佢哋成世人都要面對輻射

And so what we did with them

所以我哋同佢哋

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

討論當日收集到嘅數據

and talk about where we should be going next --

思考我哋接住落嚟要做啲咩

strategy, itinerary, etc...

策略、行程等等⋯

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

為咗做呢啲 我哋繪製咗個好簡單嘅地形圖

of the region around the nuclear power plant.

顯示核電廠周圍嘅地方

And so we built the elevation map,

之後我哋整埋個立視圖

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

灑上顏料，反映輻射嘅實時數據

and we sprayed water to simulate the rainfall.

我哋灑上水嚟模擬落雨

And with this we could see that the radioactive dust

咁樣我哋就可以見到輻射塵埃

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

由山上沖到落河裡面

and leaking into the ocean.

然後流到大海

So it was a rough estimate.

呢個係一個粗略估算

But with this in mind, we organized this expedition,

有咗呢個概念之後 我哋組織咗一次探索行動

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

呢次係平民最接近核電廠嘅一次

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

我哋喺距離核電廠 1.5 公里嘅海面上面

and with the help of the local fisherman,

因為有漁民幫手

we are collecting sediment from the seabed

我哋先至收集到海床上面嘅沉積物

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

用我哋發明嘅沉積物採集器

We pack the sediment into small bags,

我哋將沉澱物放入細膠袋

we then dispatch them to hundreds of small bags

然後再擺入幾百個袋

that we send to different universities,

送去唔同嘅大學

and we produce the map of the seabed radioactivity,

然後我哋做咗個海床輻射地圖

especially in estuaries where the fish will reproduce,

特別針對魚類繁殖嘅河口

and I will hope that we will have improved

我希望我哋嘅工作

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

能夠令本地漁民 同你鍾意嘅壽司都安全啲

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You can see a progression here --

你可以見到一個發展歷程

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

我哋由本地問題開始

到偏遠地方嘅問題，再到全球問題

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

喺不同規模度做令人非常之興奮

興奮亦都在於用嘅科技都係簡單同開放

with also very simple, open-source technologies.

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

但係同時愈嚟愈令人覺得挫折

因為我哋只係啱啱開始量度 我哋過去造成傷害

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

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

我哋仲未開始解決問題

And so I wonder if we should just take a leap

所以我諗，或者我哋嚟一個進步

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

發明更加好嘅嘢解決曬所有問題

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

諗好之後我哋發覺課室唔夠大

so we found an industrial site in Hong Kong,

我哋喺香港搵咗一個工廠大廈嘅單位

and we turned it into the largest mega-space

將佢改成最大空間

專注於社會同環境影響方面嘅工作

focused on social and environmental impact.

It's in central Hong Kong,

佢喺香港嘅市區

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

一個我哋可以做木工、金工 化學、生物、光學嘅地方

a bit of biology, a bit of optics,

basically you can build pretty much everything there.

基本上你可以喺呢度整到任何嘢

呢個係一個大人同細路 可以一齊玩嘅地方

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

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

一個大人幫小朋友實現夢想

with the help of adults,

令細路夢想可以成真嘅地方

大人都可以喺度重新體驗做細路嘅感覺

and where adults can be kids again.

Student: Acceleration! Acceleration!

學生：加速！加速！

講者︰我哋問梗一啲問題，例如

Cesar Harada: We're asking questions such as,

我哋可唔可以用再生能源 創造未來行路嘅工具嗎？

can we invent the future of mobility with renewable energy?

For example.

Or, can we help the mobility of the aging population

或者我哋可唔可以幫老化緊嘅人口

by transforming very standard wheelchairs into cool, electric vehicles?

將輪椅改裝成電動車？

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

塑膠、石油同輻射 都係人類留低好可怕嘅嘢

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

但都未算最壞

最壞嘅係對細路講大話

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

我哋唔能夠再對細路仔隱瞞核突嘅真相

因為我哋需要佢哋嘅想像力 去整一啲解決方案出嚟

because we need their imagination to invent the solutions.

So citizen scientists, makers, dreamers --

所以，平民科學家、生產者、夢想家

we must prepare the next generation

我哋一定要培育好下個世代

that cares about the environment and people,

令佢哋關心環境同人類

and that can actually do something about it.

咁樣佢哋先能夠做出真正改變

Thank you.

多謝

（掌聲）

(Applause)