Ahoy hoy friends! While I was walking home the other day, I was thinking about scientific visualization, when out of no where this punk little kid came flying in on a razor scooter and nearly knocked the encyclopedia out of my hands! As I picked up my pocket protector a thought occured to me. Kids these days have little to no interest in science. Which then lead me to ask, why was I interested in science when I was younger? The answer to that was easy, Saturday morning television.
Growing up, there were shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beakman's World. These shows not only portrayed science in a fun and positive light, they made it cool to want to be a scientist. For younger children, there were shows like The Magic School Bus, which taught kids science lessons while taking them away on fantastical adventures. It was fun to learn about science. Nowadays, there are shows where you follow a character who collects monster cards and battle each other with nearly inexplicable dialogue and no educational value at all. There are pretty flashing colorful lights, but little else. Children's programming doesnt offer the same type of educational entertainment it once did.
Many of us are entering the entertainment industry. We hold tremendous sway on what is seen on television, in the movies, and online media. I feel it is our duty to get the younger generation interested in academic pursuits, like science, to push future generations in the right direction. But how can we get children to be more interested in science? The answer is simple; Saturday morning cartoons that are not only fun and exciting, but that can teach and stimulate the mind.
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PIETER FOLKENS
Academic, environmental and naturalist circles worldwide recognize Pieters' work as among the finest, most accurate renderings of marine mammals. He is an important illustrator of marine mammal field guides with work published in over two dozen languages from Greenlandic Eskimo to Malagasy. The accuracy of the illustrations stems from extensive field experience-including lengthy treks up the Amazon River and on Arctic Ice. The quality of the work grows from a consummate attention to detail. Folkens is an accomplished writer, conservationist and naturalist as well. He spends summers studying humpback whales and orcas in Alaska as a co-founder of the Alaska Whale Foundation. He has contributed time and talents to marine research and conservation efforts in West Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Canada, Taiwan and Mexico, and at home in California. He has contributed unique scientific specimens currently residing in the collections of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences. He is the only living artist to illustrate a new marine mammal species for its scientific debut and to have presented academic papers at conferences of the Society for Marine Mammalogy of which he is a charter member and the founder of the Excellence in Science Communication Award. This native Californian spends his summers in Alaska with the Alaska Whale Foundation, for which he is a founding board member and researcher studying the feeding ecology of humpback whales.
Folkens' expertise in marine mammal morphology has appeared in twelve feature films as character designs and anatomicallycorrect stunt doubles as well as in four documentaries. His film work includes George and Gracie for Star Trek IV-The Voyage Home, the killer whales in the Free Willy series, dolphins for seaQuest DSV, White Squall, and others.
www.marinemammalogy.org/poster1.htm
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