Ask Dr. Universe | Washington State University (wsu.edu)
Who is Dr. Universe?
Dr. Wendy Sue Universe is a very smart cat who investigates tough questions from curious elementary and middle school students. Based out of Washington State University, Dr. Universe teams up with professors, researchers, and experts in the field, to tackle big questions like: What is fire? Why does soda fizz? Why is the ocean salty? Why is liquid nitrogen so cold?
Washington State University is a public research university committed to its land-grant heritage and tradition of service to society.
Why Dr. Universe?
Dr. Universe knows that children everywhere deserve a chance to explore the possibilities in science, engineering, technology, and math. Science isn’t always easy, but Dr. Universe makes it fun. She inspires the next generation of scientists and engineers to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and ask big questions. She encourages children to keep exploring and discover the ways science and engineering can help improve our world.
How does it work?
- Parents and educators can help children submit questions to Dr. Universe. She gets a lot of questions and does her best to answer as many as possible. She posts one big question each week on the website and sends it out in the Cat Mail e-newsletter.
- Students can vote in polls, read answers to questions from other kids, and watch videos on the website. The website is easy to project on an interactive whiteboard for a collaborative classroom experience. It’s also a tool for individual student research projects and can be used on a computer or tablet.
- Each post on this website is fact-checked and vetted by a professor, researcher, or graduate student at Washington State University who lends their expertise. The content can be used along with Next Generation Science Standards or as a jumping off point for science lessons.
- Stay connected with Ask Dr. Universe on Facebook and Twitter for updates on events, livestreams, and Q&As.
