 As science communicators, we get asked a lot of questions. So we might be more used to answering questions than asking them ourselves. We're gonna show you how asking questions can create an engaging experience for your visitors. Asking questions is a great way to better tailor our interactions to a level that's right for our audience. It shows that we're interested in what they have to say and can engage them, encourage them to think deeply about a topic. I'm gonna show you three types of questions and give you some examples. First, you can ask about their experience level. It's important not to assume what people already know. Some girls may have lots of experience with space and even have their own telescope. Others may have only learned about it in school. Have you ever looked through a telescope before? What do you know about Jupiter? Second, you can ask questions to engage with the girls outside interests. Here we wanna make a connection. Get to know their interests by asking them a question. So I think that there are opportunities to find your passion point or something you'd like to bring up that kids can also be engaged in where there's no wrong answer. They can tell you about what their favorite season is or what the weather was on their birthday. I mean, all those kinds of things. So I think, again, don't underestimate the importance of chit chat. And third, ask questions that encourage further exploration. You want the girls to be able to follow their interests. So it's good to give options. Keep this event girl-led. That's an important part of the Girl Scout experience for both their participation and buy-in. As a teacher, I'm not for just giving the answer. I want you to do the task to explore, to have a self-discovery moment. And I'm here to feed you tidbits along the way. If you're stuck and you need prompting, why do you think that happened? Chances are I've given them some idea beforehand about what they're going to be observing. But once they're at the telescope, they're at the eyepiece, I want it to be their experience. So I just ask them to describe to me what they're seeing. It's as simple as that. Give them some license to have an experience that's not anyway coached by me. Now let's get to something we do all the time, answering questions. Here we offer two tips and you can find more below in the resources. The first tip is to give context, not just an answer. Often when visitors ask a question, they're trying to engage. How far away is the sun? Wow, that's a really good question. It is actually tricky to answer because one answer is just really far away, but we should put a number on it, right? And that number would be 93 million miles. Now that too doesn't necessarily mean very much, right? Now imagine you break the speed limit and you actually drive at 100 miles an hour and you drive nonstop, you know, 24 hours a day all the time, then it would take you 100 years to get to the sun. So that gives you some idea of how far away the sun is, right? You have to pack a lot of snacks for that trick. So you make it all the way there, not get hungry along the way. The second technique is to encourage visitors to figure out a part of the question themselves. This can take a little more time, but is a much more powerful way of learning than telling someone a fact. You know, we have a Challenger Learning Center here and we have a mission to Mars and they are built in life-threatening, you know, emergencies. And we're waiting for those moments where they go, is something wrong or did I do it wrong? So I might walk up and, you know, what are your experience in there? What do you think that means? Let's examine the evidence. What's your conclusion? When you respond to a question by sharing your reasoning, the girl can see herself as a scientist. I have a challenge for you. Pick a question to ask your visitors at the next star party and try it out a few times. See what the response is. Being a guide on the side, not the sage on the stage, is gonna make the learning much more powerful.