Can you name ten significant Catholic scientists? Three? How about just one? And yet, according to Ian Maxfield at The Catholic Laboratory, “Over 200 religious and lay Catholics have made significant and notable contributions to our understanding of the natural world and our universe through research into astronomy, chemistry, physics, atomic theory, geology, meteorology, seismology, cosmology.”
The Catholic social justice tradition used to be the best kept secret in the Church, but it’s now been superseded by Catholic contributions to science. Many people today, including our own Catholic students, see faith and science as mutually exclusive, as if one has to abandon all reason to be religious. The Catholic Laboratory Podcast aims to change that by helping the world “rediscover the rich scientific heritage of the Catholic Church, to understand the Church’s stance towards modern science, and to inspire and give comfort to today’s Catholic scientists who may be struggling to practice their faith whilst pursuing their God-given talent for science.”
The Catholic Laboratory Podcast is a must-listen for every science teacher in Catholic schools. A new Catholic scientist is featured in every episode, along with discussions of current scientific topics and their relevance for Catholics. Past topics have included multiverses, Darwinism, the Shroud of Turin, Galileo, and the 35 lunar craters named for Jesuit priests. Since its beginning in May of 2009, the podcast has featured profiles of dozens of Catholic scientists.
Not only does Ian Maxfield give valuable background information about Catholic contributions to science, but he does so in an engaging, relevant and often humorous way. But watch out for his jokes–some of them are real groaners!
Science teachers (and catechists) can use the podcast in many different ways:
- Listen to it yourself as general background information for your teaching;
- Play excerpts from it to your students during class (especially the scientist profiles);
- Break students into groups and assign each group an episode; ask them to share what they’ve learned with the class, or have them research the featured scientist more thoroughly.
In addition to the podcast, The Catholic Laboratory also features several other resources of interest to Catholic educators:
- Suggested books and websites
- 2 Free presentations about Catholic scientists (in pdf format)
- A Facebook fan page and Twitter feed with daily tidbits about Catholics in science
Don’t miss this amazing and essential resource for Catholic science teachers and catechists.
Many thanks Nick – I owe you big time. Catholic education occupies a very special place in my heart – my faith worked as a bursar at a Catholic High School and my brother is an Assistant Head at a another Catholic High School.
In addition to what Nick recommends as classroom activities, if you want to help the podcast please do let me know. I have plenty of ideas you and your class can be involved in. EMail available from the website.
Sorry – I meant ‘my father’, not ‘my faith’ but obviously the two are connected!
Ian, it was my pleasure. Keep up the excellent work!