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Scientists are people who try to find the answers to questions they have about how the universe works. You do the very same thing every day without even realizing it! Let’s do a thought experiment to see how easy it is.
Look at your surroundings and choose an object to think about. Now, what would happen if that object moved or fell? For example, an apple on a table. What would happen if someone knocked it off? You could ask a question such as “how long would it take for the apple to reach the floor?” Can you come up with a way to find the answer?
This is exactly the process that scientists go through when they observe something in the universe that can’t be explained by what we already know. Let’s hear from some astroparticle scientists working at SNOLAB to see what being a scientist means to them!
“I think being a scientist is trying to understand why things happen the way they do. Scientists in general have a curiosity and inquisitiveness about the things that you see all the time and how they work and why things are the way they are.” – Ken Clark, a collaborator with the PICO experiment.
“The type of scientist I always wanted to be was one that searches for the big unanswered questions of the universe. I do this to try and understand how the universe works, which I think is a noble quest. When you do science, you end up getting lots of skills that are valuable to society too.” – Guillaume Giroux, leader of the NEWS-G dark matter experiment.
“To me it’s mostly about satisfying curiosity. I personally think as a scientist I have two jobs: advancing and transmitting knowledge. And I hope others will then use that knowledge to do good things for society.” – Ryan Martin, LEGEND, SNO+, and NEWS-G experimental scientist.
If you’re curious about the universe and want to help find answers to the mysteries all around us, then you could be a scientist too! Check out the rest of the education hub to learn more and keep doing science!