About

If “science experiment” turns them off – call it “magic!”

Did you know there are trains that move without engines? Or that experimental trains powered by magnets have traveled as fast as 420 miles per hour in tests? Did you know that scientists believe they –under the right conditions– can invent a train that can travel from Los Angeles to New York in only one hour?

I’m an MIT nerd, a geek or both depending on which daughter you ask. But when an editor first approached me about writing nonfiction seven years ago, I cringed and declined.

Nonfiction – as I remembered it from childhood – was dry and encyclopedic. Writing nonfiction required grueling primary research and months tracking down accurate data. Nonfiction was too much like my previous day job poring over specifications for inks and printing presses and process control standards to insure Hallmark products met exacting standards.

Write nonfiction? Not a chance!

The editor begged and cajoled. I realized my daughters had become addicted to eating on a regular basis so I acquiesced. That was almost 60 books ago and I was wrong on all counts. Writing nonfiction is a blast.

As a country, we lag behind other industrial nations in terms of math and science proficiency. We don’t show students how a simple concept can be turned into a scientific discovery that can change the world. I knew if I couldn’t make the subject interesting to me, it wouldn’t be interesting to a student. I wanted to help students “connect the dots”.

Connecting The S.T.E.M. Dots Blog is coming this fall 2011 for downloadable handouts containing easy science experiments and their relationship to real life applications.

In the meantime, you’ll find me at www.ChristineTaylorButler.com