When did you last actually read a popular science article?
Not skim a headline. Not scroll past in your feed. Actually read it.
Most people can't remember. Turns out "popular" science isn't that popular.
The typical approach to making those articles? Take professional research - driven by grants, career pressure, publication metrics - and try to make it accessible and relatable. But the original questions weren't chosen because someone genuinely wondered. They were chosen because they're fundable.
The result? Articles about topics readers struggle to care about. Hard to understand why it even matters.
Teen researchers work differently
They pick questions that genuinely intrigue them. More practical. Closer to everyday life. Scientific method applied to things people actually wonder about.
A 16-year-old spends months on real, rigorous research. No funding game. No career ladder. Just a question she wanted to answer.
Then she tells you what she found. Directly. No translation layer.
