Why Study Science? (1955)

[Music] so [Music] getting late we better get back i see the can smell that coffee you go on and tell the mother we're back i'll bring the catch as soon as i clean it hi there oh hi jack said you did all right well they ought to make enough for supper uh how did you and betty do oh we came in early so that we could get some packing done and get an early start in the morning don't remind me going home can't we squeeze in one more day oh i'm afraid not son i have to be back to work on monday and you and betty have to get ready to go back to school school already seems like the summer just started you know dad this camping out's been more fun than any vacation i've ever had that's fine it surely has i hope we can do this again next summer uh can we betty that depends maybe your mother would rather do something else next summer oh no i've enjoyed this as much as anybody there's something so relaxing about being out like this so let's finish relaxing and touch it all off with a marshmallow what do you say mom you hold these and i'll see if i can get the fire going boy just look at those stars you almost feel as if you could touch them do you suppose we ever will well what all reach the planet the moon space travel no doubt about it oh maybe a long time before we reach the planets they're pretty far away but a space station first and from there on out to the moon that's on the way in and maybe quicker than we think my dad you're the last person on earth i'd expect to believe that well why betty your father's not entirely lacking in imagination that's what i mean imagination science fiction stuff dad's always been one for the facts well i know one thing if they do build a space station in my lifetime or send a ship to the moon i'm gonna be ready to go i'm gonna have my name on the waiting list are you gonna go sure no no i mean are you going to be ready i don't see why not it's going to take someone with a spirit of adventure i still say are you going to be ready i don't know what you're getting there the facts as betty says the fact is adventure will be just one little part of it right now you and betty will have to get ready for the other things it'll take like what like what you know what you understand what courses are you taking next year oh my schedule's already made out in the ninth grade you have to take mathematics and english and history no science well i had my choice of taking general science this year or next but i put it off for you then you put your trip off of here how come what's the matter with you buddy i was just trying to imagine the look on mr bristow's face if he thought somebody had enrolled in general science just to get ready to go to the moon we are getting a little off the beam aren't we but only because we were talking about the moon i could give you some down the road reasons why i'd study science if i were the age of you two uh-oh here it comes the facts go on dad you were saying well my father pretty much grew up with the automobile and i did the same thing with the airplane and you two kids well i guess you're a part of the atomic age yeah or the television age that's what i'm getting at if you want to be an important part of your own age you have to be able to keep up with it or if you can keep ahead of it there's no doubt what we need trained scientists well i've had my year of general science and i see no reason why i should take another course next year when i'm a senior i don't want to be a scientist uh she just wants to hook some guy all right so i want to get married and have a family is there anything wrong with that nothing except your idea that you'll never need science to keep house sure and who has the big share in keeping us healthy your mother planning nutritious meals for us taking care of you when when you were babies suppose you don't find the right man right away many worthwhile careers for women physical therapy nursing medical and dental laboratory technicians you have to have some knowledge of science in order to get one of those jobs here's something else when you and jack were little and wanted to know what made it rain what made the telephone work when did you ask not bad he was at work but i didn't learn about science in school i had to dig out of the encyclopedia later to satisfy you so you see women need to know as much about science as some men do there you said something mom but what about me i'm no edison or einstein maybe not maybe you won't be another edison but but how do you know you won't edison may not have been a scientist when he was your age either but the sciences chemistry biology and physics all give you a chance to discover while you're still in school where your interests are maybe so but would there still be some jobs where you can get by without science what if i turned out to be a big league pitcher or a concert violin that'll be the day whatever you work at son you're still a citizen with the power to vote living in a scientific age we need citizens who know enough about science to make intelligent decisions about what they do we've used science to to prolong life to increase security and happiness but it can also be used for destruction are we going to use it constructively to promote peace and and give the world freedom from want it'll be up to you and you too yeah i see what you mean it gives a fellow a lot to think about me too five o'clock is going to come awfully early five o'clock yeah if we don't get started by then we won't get home tomorrow night till that's dark i think we better all turn in aren't you two coming i'll be there in a minute me too yes jack the vacation will soon be over and you'll be going back to school you and betty and thousands of other young people will get down to work in the business of preparing yourselves for the life ahead and what good prospects the life ahead holds you will live in finer homes than your forefathers ever dreamed of you will travel in safety at speeds that would have staggered your grandfather's imagination [Music] you will get to know the people of your world first hand two weeks in paris overnight to venice these may be commonplace to you as the science of agriculture advances the world will be better fed and clothed and housed you too will reap great harvests and you will know the benefits of the many industries pioneered by science but along with the blessings of a scientific age you will shoulder new and great responsibilities you will have to learn all you can about today's technology so that you can do your share of the world's work so that you can encourage research so that you can heal the sick [Music] so that you can build the bridges and buildings and highways of tomorrow so that you can teach inspire and encourage those who come after you the fields of agriculture of electrical and chemical engineering astronomy pharmacy radiology nursing dietetics all these and more require a basic knowledge of science some of you may be statesmen who must understand the impact and implications of science on society you may well decide whether mankind is bettered or destroyed by the products of science you will be ministers and social workers and psychiatrists who through your comprehension of the adjustments men must make in a scientific age can help us to grow spiritually and socially as we grow materially but apart from future benefits you will find the various fields of science are absorbing studies right here and right now while you're in school science is fun it helps you to learn to know and to appreciate when you study science you may go on field trips you discover the marvelous interrelationships between all living things [Music] you learn to read the history of the earth as it is written in rocks and fossils you find out what makes things tick everything from a molecule [Music] to a living organism in the study of sciences found the most useful and satisfying knowledge of man knowledge of his physical world its past its present and its future and in your moments of relaxation now and in the years to come you will find the study of science leading you into fascinating pursuits photography collecting why study science study science because you and betty and the nancy's and bills and joe's and james all over the country will find in the study of science a richer more rewarding life