How to Make Science Fun and Accessible for Kids with the Help of ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’

Making science fun and accessible for everyone is the goal of Ada Twist, Scientist, which launches Sept. 28 and is aimed at preschool-aged children. Based on the best-selling picture book series of the same name by Andrea Beaty, the animated show finds 8-year-old Ada, a pint-sized scientist with a giant-sized curiosity, using science to discover the truth about everything from chain reactions to evaporation.

Each episode features real scientists, like aerospace engineer Keji Sojobi, who explain in easy-to-understand terms how basic elements of science work. The series encourages children to be curious about their surroundings and take an active interest in why things happen and how things work, something with which Sojobi is quite familiar.

“A vivid memory I have from when I was little is of regularly watching space shuttle launches on TV and being in awe of them,” she says. “I loved math and was curious about the world around me. I loved learning about outer space and things that fly. And I had my parents and good teachers who helped me nurture my curiosity about these things.”

To help nurture the same curiosity in others, we asked Sojobi for her tips on how to make science fun and accessible for everyone, and what parents can do to better encourage their children to take an interest in it.

1. Tie science into everyday situations and observations: “I love looking at the moon, and when we have a particularly spectacular moonrise, I tend to point it out to anyone in my vicinity,” explains Sojobi. “That, more often than not, leads to a quick conversation about why the moon appears so big, or so yellow, or so red during this moonrise.”

“Asking questions with people about why the world around us is a certain way generally tends to lead to fun science talk, in my experience,” she adds.

2. Start as early as possible: “I often think back on how my parents would have me count and do simple arithmetic with sugar packets at restaurant dining tables when I was a toddler, and how I was unknowingly brought up to not be intimidated by math because of things like that,” says Sojobi. “Math and science are intrinsically linked, and I believe an interest in science can be similarly instilled at a young age.”
3. Be active and involved: “Encourage your child’s questions about why things work the way they do,” Sojobi says. “Show them interesting everyday things like how eggs change consistency when you cook them a certain way. Point out how the outdoors smell different after it rains. Observe things with them, and don’t be afraid of their follow-up questions!”

Ada Twist, Scientist joins a growing catalog of kids and family programs streaming on Netflix. Once you’ve finished the science-based series, be sure to check out Ridley Jones, A Storybots Space Adventure, and Gaby’s Dollhouse.