Bill Nye The Science Guy visits Epcot on Wednesday for National Engineers Week...

TuffyCatt

TuffyCatt

Active Member
EpcotFanForever said:
Bill Nye is nothing more than a washed-up child of the media who has made a name for himself by promoting a dorky image of science and scientists. Yeah, right - they all walk around in blue lab coats and talk with over-emphatic emotions and wave their hands wildly. Just another sad example of media hype.
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As someone who grew up in the 90's, I can say that Bill Nye was a really great part of our science education in middle and early high school. As others have said, it was always a good day when Bill Nye was shown in class. He made science fun, relevant, and exciting - and in no small part fostered my love of science as a teenager that lead to my pursuing Biology in undergrad and graduate school for veterinary medicine. So - he was a bit more than hype for some of us.

Anyway - I'm excited to hear that he was at Epcot, and I'm looking forward to watching the video! I don't know if he's been making educational videos currently, but I'm glad to hear he's still participating in things like this!
 
Victoria

Victoria

Not old, just vintage.
Master Yoda said:
Actually he is still a very well respected science educator and member of the skeptical community.
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This. *high five*

I have a group of 9 very difficult to engage special education students who absolutely love Bill Nye. He is the farthest thing from irrelevant and washed-up to them. I will spend several sessions teaching all the concepts and doing experiments. The kids know if they cooperate and do well I will reward them with a corresponding Bill Nye DVD at the end of the unit. I've tried other videos (including the one that comes with the text book) as a wrap up/reinforcement but they usually don't hold their attention.
 
EpcotFanForever

EpcotFanForever

Active Member
tiggerific418 said:
This. *high five*

I have a group of 9 very difficult to engage special education students who absolutely love Bill Nye. He is the farthest thing from irrelevant and washed-up to them. I will spend several sessions teaching all the concepts and doing experiments. The kids know if they cooperate and do well I will reward them with a corresponding Bill Nye DVD at the end of the unit. I've tried other videos (including the one that comes with the text book) as a wrap up/reinforcement but they usually don't hold their attention.
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... and here I thought you made them watch the DVD as punishment.
 
Victoria

Victoria

Not old, just vintage.
EpcotFanForever said:
... and here I thought you made them watch the DVD as punishment.
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Not in the least. Finding something these kids respond to is far and few between. Bill Nye has a certain level of celebrity status to them so it automatically makes him cooler than me. I'm fine with that. I don't care if it is media hype or whatever it is you claim. As long as I keep getting groups of kids who like watching him, I will keep showing the DVDs. I know what works and if it isn't broken, don't fix it!
 
Victoria

Victoria

Not old, just vintage.
unkadug said:
Anybody that can get children excited about science is alright in my book.
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That's my theory as well. I've never loved Science but I do my best to make the kids understand and enjoy it. These kids are probably never going to have much use for knowledge about magnets, kinetics, or astronomy and they know it. I can stand in front of the class, do every experiment and demonstration imaginable, but they probably still won't care too much about it. However, for the ~30 minutes they watch that DVD they are excited, engaged, and actively learning. After the 30 minutes is up they might not care any more, but at least I got that period of time in which some piece of information might have sunk in for good.
 
M

Monsterfan99

Active Member
Got to see the last 2 presentations. Easily the best part was the Q&A section. Questions ranged from 2012, his ties and Ellen's Energy Adventure.

The really cool part is not only did he sign autographs, but someone (I'd guess UL footed the bill here) printed up custom 8x10s for him to sign. Nice to see a small special event that drew maybe 500 total given a big time feel.
 
EpcotFanForever

EpcotFanForever

Active Member
tiggerific418 said:
Not in the least. Finding something these kids respond to is far and few between. Bill Nye has a certain level of celebrity status to them so it automatically makes him cooler than me. I'm fine with that. I don't care if it is media hype or whatever it is you claim. As long as I keep getting groups of kids who like watching him, I will keep showing the DVDs. I know what works and if it isn't broken, don't fix it!
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I claim it's misleading, but I guess that doesn't matter as long as it's edutainment.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
EpcotFanForever said:
Hmmm, not being part of the hive-mind = bitterness? bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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You got the equation wrong. Looking for fault and corporate greed in a truly good thing=bitterness.

Bill Nye and others like him are great for education and great for science. If there were more people like Bill Nye maybe, just maybe our little corner of the world would be a little better. I know I would certainly face palm a good bit less when I read the comments on science articles in the main stream press.
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
EpcotFanForever said:
Hmmm, not being part of the hive-mind = bitterness? bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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hipster-kitty-approves.jpg
 
juniorthomas

juniorthomas

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
You got the equation wrong. Looking for fault and corporate greed in a truly good thing=bitterness.

Bill Nye and others like him are great for education and great for science. If there were more people like Bill Nye maybe, just maybe our little corner of the world would be a little better. I know I would certainly face palm a good bit less when I read the comments on science articles in the main stream press.
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Agreed.

He showed up on CNN to discuss feasibility of oil cleanup options in the Gulf. For once, I could actually watch CNN for more than a few minutes. Check it out:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/10/fix-it-bill-nye-on-oil-disaster-suggestions/
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
juniorthomas said:
Agreed.

He showed up on CNN to discuss feasibility of oil cleanup options in the Gulf. For once, I could actually watch CNN for more than a few minutes. Check it out:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/10/fix-it-bill-nye-on-oil-disaster-suggestions/
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I liked his comments on a recent poll about creationism. The guy might not have a TV show anymore but he is incredibly relevant when it comes to science education and activism.

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/06/bill-nye-on-americas.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/evolution-classroom-bill-nye-science-education
 
juniorthomas

juniorthomas

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
I liked his comments on a recent poll about creationism. The guy might not have a TV show anymore but he is incredibly relevant when it comes to science education and activism.

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/06/bill-nye-on-americas.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/evolution-classroom-bill-nye-science-education
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Seriously, he's too smart to write off. He's not just a former tv show personality. Above all else, he's a scientist and a teacher. Guy is a living legend in my book.
 

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