It's 6:30am. It’s dark. I’m tired. And my four-year-old is wide awake and sitting on my bed.

He’s brought with him some of his ‘ancient animals’ cards (the latest draw-card to shop at a certain local supermarket). The cards are actually well done, and there are some good facts on them.

But remember, it's dark in my bedroom, so I turn on the light of my mobile phone and pass it to my munchkin so he can look at his cards. What does he proceed to do? He turned a card over and shone the light of my phone through the card.

“Look Daddy, it’s green, because…” Then he turned the card over. “...This is green. That’s science.”

Ah, that’s my boy!!! I do encourage his understanding of science, and try to explain as much as he is capable of grasping. For him to give it back to me like that simply made my day  :)

Will I push him into science as he grows up? No. Will I insist he studies science at school? Nope. Will I hope he does? Well, yes, of course. But what is important, and what I absolutely will insist upon, is that he is scientifically literate. As Neil deGrasse Tyson (American astrophysicist and science communicator) put it: “Being scientifically literate makes the world look very different to you, and that understanding empowers you.”

So yes, I will insist on science literacy for my munchkin, and for his little sister and brother. This does not mean I expect them to become scientists one day. Wait, let me rephrase. They don’t have to work in the field of science when they’re older. But armed with their science literacy, they will always be scientists, no matter what.

As Sally Ride (American astronaut) said, “Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It’s posing questions and coming up with a method. It’s delving in.”

Go Science!!!