When Nick and I created “Scientists in the Field,” what we were looking for was to be writing, not just about some animal, a bunch of facts about it, we wanted to provide some real drama. We wanted to take kids on a real, exciting, real-life expedition. And our books have narrative. And there wasn’t a whole lot out there. Not only do we have a narrative, but we have these great heroes and heroines in our narratives, who I think are great role models for kids. Scientists— a lot of people who are working in science in the field today— didn’t even like science when they were growing up because they thought it was a big book of answers you had to memorize, and not a process, and not an adventure, not exploring. But that’s what it is. And in the field, as a scientist, you’re really using so much more than science too, aren’t you?
I mean, you’re MacGyvering in the field. You’re using everything you ever learned. And for me, to do these books, I’ve had to use my physical fitness skills. I’ve had to swim for hours. I’ve had to ride camels, ride horses, and elephants. I’ve had to learn foreign languages. And it really helps to know one foreign language. And boy, even if you don’t learn the whole language, just being able to say hello in Bengali or Mongolian or talk pidgin, really makes people happy to see you.
All the stuff I learned as a Girl Scout, I’ve used in researching these books. And scientists need that. I think that field science or writing about field science is just one of the most fun and exciting and demanding and thrilling jobs you could ever have. I feel like I’m the luckiest person on Earth.
I always go to the library first thing, and of course I read all that I can about Mongolia if I’m going to write about the snow leopards, or New Guinea if I’m writing about tree kangaroos, or Bengali culture if I’m going to go to West Bengal. So, the research really does start in the library. And I try to see any films about my subject. But a lot of what we do, and scientists and field theory, is the science is unfolding in front of you. You couldn’t get it in a book. So the story is really happening in front of you, and what you want to do is go to the field with your heart full of all the background you can get. But you also want to be very receptive to this very stuff that is gonna happen in front of you. Maybe for the first time ever, anywhere.
And it invariably does, because the universe is just so full of gifts for us. And the teachers are going to come out of the woodwork and show us the way.
