Mars rover aces social networking, but will it inspire study of science?

An article published Aug. 12 in the Christian Science Monitor looks at the strong social presence of Curiosity, and then examines whether this mission could impact future generations of students by inspiring them to go into a science-related field.

According to the article, scholars who evaluate the state of science education worry that the United States is falling behind and not preparing students for a future that will depend more on scientific and technological skills. Experts and scientists hope that the popularity of this Mars mission, one of the first major NASA expeditions with a wide social media presence, will boost interest in science and technology.

"They are still figuring out the exact numbers, but it seems that almost 4.5 million people watched the landing on TV and that more than 3.2 million streamed it over the Internet, according to David Seidel, deputy education director for the JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory]," writes Kevin Loria, in the article. "Curiosity has more than 240,000 Facebook 'likes' and close to 900,000 Twitter followers."

Loria continues: "Kip Hodges, a professor and director of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, says he has high hopes that students will be inspired by the rover. ... Hodges says some scientific disciplines already are growing rapidly, with young people concerned about the environment, and that the cool factor and interactive tools NASA created for Curiosity could attract a lot of interest."

Read the full story at the link below.