Comedian and mathematician Dara Ó Briain is diving into the invisible science behind everyday life in his second children’s book, Secret Science: The Amazing World Beyond Your Eyes. He chats to HELEN GLENNY
What motivated you to start writing for children?
I knew that this would be an interesting group to write for because kids are natural scientists. They ask questions, they’re curious.
The ideal outcome is that when I’m sitting on a park bench feeding ducks in my later years, a woman in a white coat, literally in a lab coat, walks past and says ‘Oh my god! I’m a scientist because I read your books when I was a kid!’ This is obviously a ridiculous leap. Why am I feeding ducks? Why is this woman still wearing her lab coat while walking in the park? There are so many things wrong with this fantasy but the general gist is that hopefully this stuff sticks with people.
What are the challenges of writing for children?
This story is from the January 2019 edition of BBC Earth.
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This story is from the January 2019 edition of BBC Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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