I think one of the problems with the appeal of science to young students is that pupils realize that they have to learn math; and that fact alone sizzles their romantic notions of science. Science is not magic, as most students would speculate, there is very arduous work behind science; this hard work turns off many. How to keep science and math exciting for students can be challenging, e.g. for a teacher. You have varying aptitudes and interests with a class. I recall many students saying, "I will never need to know this (math) in the 'real world'". They could not be more mistaken; I was one of those, at a young age. I was fortunate enough, when I was quite young, to experience Carl Sagan's Cosmos PBS broadcast in the late 70's or early 80's (I don't remember which). This confirmed/affirmed my natural inquisitiveness, as a child, for science.
The challenge is presenting science in an exciting way for young students (let's say elementary school and even middle school) so that they yearn for more, and they learn to apply critical thinking to the pre-conceived notions they may have about life.
Sincerely,
