What is time? “Flame Challenge” deadline looms for science explainers

Science : With a longer supplemental article available online, a Science “Newsmakers” piece begins, “What is time and how would you explain it to an 11-year-old? That’s the second Flame Challenge that actor Alan Alda and the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York have posed to scientists. Answers are due 1 March and will be judged by thousands of children.” Alda, with long experience as a science promoter and as a communicator, believes that 11-year-olds represent a fitting test for scientists seeking to explain science not just effectively but winningly. He describes the kids’ carefulness to dismiss answers that are too short or insufficiently informative, notes that they “don’t mind it if a scientist speaks colloquially,” and warns that “they don’t want the answers to be silly.” He adds, “Last year, one kid said, ‘We’re 11, we’re not 7!’” Last year’s question, which gives the program its name, was, “What is a flame?” Entry details are available at The Flame Challenge .