I actually tend to have better conversations with older folks. There was a man today who was probably in his late 60's and had (I'm guessing) his grandson with him. He was just talking about how interesting nature was to him and we talked about how he used to know spring had come when the Monarchs arrived. He was from Wisconsin, originally. A lot of older folks actually played out in nature as kids and have a point of reference whereas the kids I talk to are more likely to say they raised one of those Painted Lady kits or they raised Monarchs at school. Those things can be educational, too but there's something about discovering and figuring out things on your own that causes you to learn at a deeper level, I believe. Plus, you could tell the man had fond memories of childhood and telling his mother the Monarchs had come and that meant spring was here.
Also, a lot of these people vote or will one day vote and make decisions and I just try to inform them. I had a family today that was talking about how maybe they could grow a little milkweed near their house after we discussed the danger of losing the Monarch migration. And I was telling the mom how easy it is to grow and that she could find plants or seeds at Home Depot or Lowe's. I told her it was so easy to grow I prefer seeds but if she wanted some instant gratification to get plants. She was worried because she said she kills plants and even my mom was reassuring her that milkweed is hard to kill.
And MOSI's mission statement is "making science real" and I'm just trying to keep it real.
