Accidentally Learning Science with Comics

​In one month’s time I will make my annual pilgrimage to the nerd promised land. For the fourth year in a row, I will be attending the biggest fan show on the East Coast, New York Comic Con. I look forward to not just absorbing waves of comics, toys, and pop culture goodness but also being part of the educational panels that they offer throughout the weekend. This year I am currently curating a number of panels (some at the Javits and some at the New York Public Library) and helping out with the educator meet and greet session (more on that to come).

It’s a fantastic event run by some really dedicated and hardworking people whose sole goal is to bring the best of geekdom to everyone who shows up…

…and a lot of people show up, believe me. 

This year, I am sitting on two panels personally but today’s post isn’t about one of them. Today’s post is about a panel that I am curating but not actually participating in directly. Interestingly enough, it’s always one of the most popular panels that we present at these large shows. We’ve offered it at Denver ComicCon, C2E2, and San Diego ComicCon. It’s always very well attended by educators and teachers in training who are looking for recommendations on which comics to teach and how to teach them.

Did you guess it yet? Come on. The title of this post must have given it away!

It’s our STEM panel, silly! For the uninitiated, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Sometimes the acronym is represented as STEAM where the additional “A” stands for Art. Either way, there are a lot of teachers out there who specialize in these subject areas who also just happen to be nerds. It makes sense to me. I think we can agree that the comic con world is full of folks who love technology, are analytic thinkers, and appreciate the visual arts. It stands to reason that so many teachers would gravitate to panels like theses. Whether you are a comic lover and a teacher or your students are comic lovers and learners, it’s a match made in heaven.
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So, we are prepping for a new panel this year and I am thrilled to announce that an old friend who I have been pestering to make the trek to the Big Apple for the show has finally relented this year. Sitting on the panel will be the amazing Dr. Jay Hosler!

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Not only is Jay a full professor of biology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, but he is an artist and author of some of the most amazing science based comics ever published. This includes The Sandwalk Adventures, Optical Allusions, Evolution, and The Last of the Sandwalkers.

​However, his first book is still my favorite. Clan Apis is the story of the life cycle of a honeybee told as a narrative with the insects as characters. What makes this book so amazing is the engaging plot that reads as biography rather than biology. We follow the exploits of Nyuki whose story begins as every bee’s does, as a larva. We see her grow into an adult honeybee and eventually… well, you will have to read it to find out.

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​Hosler doesn’t cartoonize his bees. They look like real insects, as do the other flora and fauna that Nyuki encounters in her adventures. He uses subtle artistic tricks to bring emotional expression to the characters, like using their antennae as de facto eyebrows, for example. 

I introduced a biology teacher at my school to Jay’s books a few years back and she convinced the department to buy a set of the books for her classroom. As my title suggests, this is a sneaky way for you to attach some learning to reading for pleasure. It works, trust me!

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​Joining Jay on the panel are Alison Wilgus and Molly Brooks who together produced an amazing book in First Second Publishing’s Science Comics line called Flying Machines. This is another really well structured look at the history of and physics behind how aircraft work. I have a really hard time keeping this one in my possession as my students and colleagues keep asking to borrow it!

We also have Joe Flood from First Second who has two of his own Science Comics books – Sharks and Dinosaurs (along with MK Reed). Again, these texts are a very accessible way to bring science to your students (and to you as well!) because of the colorful art and engaging presentation. 

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The last member of the panel is Illya Kowalchuck, Director of Education for Pop Culture Classroom. Illya is a lover of comics and education, having been a math teacher before stepping out of the classroom to expand his reach to teachers, students, and school all over the country. He travels extensively as part of Pop Culture Classroom’s outreach programs. I have worked for Illya for nearly a year and can say that he is a dedicated educator who sees the value of comics in the classroom and can talk about it at length. Just check out his Ted Talk!

I’m no science teacher but I am a lover of great books. The folks on this panel know great books and how to teach with them. If you are in New York this year for the show, swing by the STEM panel on Thursday. You can find the schedule on the NYCC website very soon!

As always, follow me on Twitter @tryingteacher if you want to see when this site is updated!

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