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  • Water: The Amazing Liquid- A Simple Experiment

    Water is the life-sustaining liquid found abundantly on Earth. It can dissolve many substances, but not everything, and sometimes it depends on the conditions. Substances that dissolve in water are called water-soluble. Let’s explore this with a simple experiment!

    Experiment: Soluble vs Non-Soluble Substances

    Recommended age: 5 years and above (adult supervision suggested)

    Purpose: To observe which substances dissolve in water and which do not.

    Materials & Methods:

    • Small amounts of different substances (e.g., salt, sugar, oil, milk, vinegar, sand, rice, soil, flour)
    • Water
    • Transparent jar or glass
    • Spoon for stirring
    • Observation sheet

    Steps:

    1. Add a small amount of each substance to a glass of water.
    2. Stir gently and watch carefully.
    3. Record your observations on the observation sheet.

    Observation

    • Note what happens to each substance.
    • Does it disappear in water or stay the same?
    • Draw, tick, or write what you see on the sheet.

    Download Printable Observation Sheet below

    Soluble_vs_Non-Soluble_Observation_SheetDownload

    Conclusion

    Water can dissolve some substances but not all. By observing carefully, we learn to notice differences and ask questions. Some substances may partially dissolve, some dissolve quicker than others – showing that dissolving can happen in different ways.

    More to ponder…

    What do you think would happen if the water was warm or cold? Or if we stirred for a longer time? What if we use more or less of the substance- does it dissolve differently?

    Young scientist challenge

    Can you find out what a solution is and what a suspension is?

  • Public Health 101: Key Concepts and Terms (Part 2)

    In a previous post, we began unpacking key concepts and definitions in public health. If you haven’t read it, you may find it helpful to start there. Here, let’s explore some more components of the public health lexicon.

    1. Environmental & Occupational Health
    2. One Health
    3. Health Policy & Governance
    4. Health Economics
    5. Health Informatics

    Environmental & Occupational Health

    Environmental and occupational health are subfields within public health. Environmental health focuses on how environmental factors such as air, water, housing, and exposure to pollutants affect human health. It emphasizes prevention through environmental protection, regulation, and sustainable practices. Currently, environment health largely focuses on urbanization and other anthropogenic environments including industrial activity, natural resource extraction, and transportation systems that support modern economic and social life (1).

    Occupational health is concerned with protecting and promoting health and safety by identifying and managing factors in the workplace that can affect health. It aims to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and long-term health risks. The aim of occupational health is ” to promote and maintain highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations” (2). This can be achieved by creating safe and supportive working conditions , and promoting organizational practices and workplace cultures that value safety, participation, and effective management systems to strengthen health and safety.

    One Health

    One Health is an integrated approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health. Through this approach, public health extends beyond a human centered focus.

    A recent definition of One health is “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent” (3).

    Issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), joint surveillance of zoonotic and vector borne diseases, climate related health impacts, and food safety fall within the purview of the One health approach.

    Health Policy & Governance

    Health policy refers to the decisions, plans, and actions by governments and organizations to achieve health goals. Different countries govern health in different ways. In some countries and settings, individuals pay directly for health services, and much of health research and workforce development is led by the private sector. In others, governments play a central role in ensuring access to care, supporting research, and planning the health workforce. All of these fall under the scope of health policy and health systems governance.

    Strong health policy and governance is fundamental to delivering accessible, equitable, affordable and efficient healthcare. It involves fair resource allocation, clear regulations, and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating health system performance.

    Health Economics

    Health economics focuses on how resources are allocated within the health sector. It provides tools to assess efficiency, cost-effectiveness of interventions, economic evaluation of programs etc. In other words, the ‘value’ of health and the demand and supply of healthcare. It also includes behavioral analysis such as why people make certain health choices, and health affecting behaviors.

    In short, health economics applies economic principles to health and healthcare, thereby informing policy and governance.

    Health Informatics

    Health informatics involves the use of information systems, data, and digital technologies to support health care delivery, public health practice, and decision-making. This includes electronic health records, disease surveillance systems, health information systems, and digital health tools. A highlight of health informatics is the use of data analytics to form insights and support innovations in health care.

    Simply put, it is to store, manage, and share health related data.

    In addition to data storage and exchange, health informatics is an interprofessional discipline that focuses on transforming biomedical data into meaningful knowledge to support scientific inquiry, problem-solving, and informed decision-making.

    References

    1. Jennings B. Environmental and Occupational Public Health. 2016 Apr 13. In: H. Barrett D, W. Ortmann L, Dawson A, et al., editors. Public Health Ethics: Cases Spanning the Globe [Internet]. Cham (CH): Springer; 2016. Chapter 6. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK435781/ doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-23847-0_6
    2. World Health Organization. Occupational health [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025 [cited 2025 Dec 23]. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/occupational-health
    3. One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP); Adisasmito WB, Almuhairi S, Behravesh CB, Bilivogui P, Bukachi SA, Casas N, Cediel Becerra N, Charron DF, Chaudhary A, Ciacci Zanella JR, Cunningham AA, Dar O, Debnath N, Dungu B, Farag E, Gao GF, Hayman DTS, Khaitsa M, Koopmans MPG, Machalaba C, Mackenzie JS, Markotter W, Mettenleiter TC, Morand S, Smolenskiy V, Zhou L. One Health: A new definition for a sustainable and healthy future. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Jun 23;18(6):e1010537. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010537. PMID: 35737670; PMCID: PMC9223325.
    4. Jen MY, Mechanic OJ, Teoli D. Informatics. [Updated 2023 Sep 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470564/

  • The Young Scientist

    Growing curiosity, critical thinking, and scientific temperament in children.

    We often think of science as something that belongs in laboratories or classrooms. But long before a child learns formulas or definitions, science begins- in curiosity, observation, and questions.

    The young scientist is not about raising future scientists. It is about nurturing a scientific temperament- a way of thinking that values inquiry, reasoning, analyzing and critical thinking. It also means openness to changing conclusions when presented with new evidence. These are skills that help a child grow and thrive , regardless of the career they eventually choose.

    Scientific thinking does not require expensive kits or advanced knowledge. It can happen at home, during a walk outside, while watching the weather change, or while wondering why a plant grows the way it does. Day to day life and events offer opportunities for children to explore, experiment and reflect.

    In a world increasingly shaped by information explosion, helping children learn how to think is very relevant. Encouraging scientific temperament helps children become thoughtful, resilient, and responsible individuals capable of reasoning, and caring for the world around them.

    This section of the blog is a space for children, parents, educators and anyone interested in children’s mentoring. You will find reflections, simple ideas, everyday observations, and activities that encourage curiosity and learning to notice, ask and understand.

    This space is an invitation to slow down, to notice, and wonder. Whether you are a child discovering the world, or an adult guiding that discovery, you might find some inspiration here. Because every child who wonders, questions, and explores is already a young scientist.

  • Public Health 101: Key Concepts and Terms

    Public health is a broad and evolving field including a wide range of related terms. Some of these terms have distinct meanings, while others are closely related and overlap in practice. Because health is shaped by biological, social, environmental, and economic factors, public health is inherently interdisciplinary. In this post, we will take a closer look at commonly used concepts and terminologies related to public health.

    The definition, scope, and purpose, of public health related terms, have evolved along with societies, health challenges, and scientific understanding. Looking at some of these definitions can provide context and help understand the expansion of this field.

    1. Public Health
    2. Global Health
    3. International Health
    4. Global Public Health
    5. Population Health

    Public Health

    Winslow’s classic definition of public health as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals” captures the core principles and is timeless (1). Based on these values, public health professionals focus on prevention, education, research, and policy action, and collaboration to promote well-being, prevent disease, and respond to health threats like infectious diseases. Modern public health emerged in the mid-19th century, evolving from earlier tenets of hygiene and tropical medicine (2).

    Global Health

    Global health is a relatively recent term and is sometimes used ambiguously, or interchangeably with public health, though in global health, there is distinct emphasis on the geographic scope of health issues. Global health is best understood as an area of study, research, and practice that focuses on improving health and achieving health equity for people across high-, middle-, and low-income countries alike. It focuses on health of all across countries, cooperation between countries, and the influence of transnational determinants of health (2).

    The scope of global health is broad. It is highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, drawing not only from the health sciences but also from fields such as economics, sociology, environmental science, politics, etc. Examples of issues addressed within global health include nutrition, mental health, climate change, urbanization, migration, infectious diseases, and substance use among others.

    International Health

    Unlike global health, which emphasizes a global view point and transnational determinants of health, international health has traditionally been framed around differences between countries and development contexts. It has been used to refer to health work that focuses on health issues in low- and middle-income countries, often from the perspective of high-income or industrialized nations. Thus, the focus is on developing countries and often with attention to infectious and tropical diseases, water and sanitation, malnutrition, and maternal and child health.

    Even though the term international health is still used in historic and programmatic contexts (e.g. International Health Regulations – IHR 2005) , the term global health is more predominant in academic, policy, and practice contexts. Authors have suggested that this shift is part of broader political and historical shifts in the international health landscape, including new challenges and changing power dynamics (3).

    Global Public Health

    Global public health can be seen as an extension of public health and global health perspectives, emphasizing the application of public health principles to improve health outcomes at a global scale. It can also be understood as an umbrella term, with its definition still evolving and often overlapping with global health. The term is increasingly used in academic and educational contexts, including as the title of a peer‑reviewed journal and in graduate programs that focus on public health issues within a global frame. In practice, the terms global health and global public health are sometimes used interchangeably.

    Global public health is also regarded as a specialty within formal public health education, imparting competencies related to ethics and vulnerable populations, the health impacts of globalization, disease burden, social and political contexts, and management (4).

    Population Health

    Population health examines health outcomes and their underlying determinants within defined groups, using data to inform targeted policies and interventions. A definition is “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group”. While in public health, there is an emphasis on the conditions required for health, in population health the focus is on on structural and contextual factors, including how systems, agencies and organizations collaborate for health improvement (6). Population health also relies on transdisciplinary perspectives to address complex health challenges.

    You can continue reading in Part 2, where the foundational concepts of public health are further explored.

    References

    1. Winslow CE. THE UNTILLED FIELDS OF PUBLIC HEALTH. Science. 1920 Jan 9;51(1306):23-33. doi: 10.1126/science.51.1306.23. PMID: 17838891.
    2. Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, Reddy KS, Rodriguez MH, Sewankambo NK, Wasserheit JN; Consortium of Universities for Global Health Executive Board. Towards a common definition of global health. Lancet. 2009 Jun 6;373(9679):1993-5. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60332-9. Epub 2009 Jun 1. PMID: 19493564; PMCID: PMC9905260.
    3. Brown TM, Cueto M, Fee E. The World Health Organization and the transition from “international” to “global” public health. Am J Public Health. 2006 Jan;96(1):62-72. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.050831. Epub 2005 Dec 1. PMID: 16322464; PMCID: PMC1470434.
    4. Karkee R, Comfort J and Alfonso H (2015) Defining and Developing a Global Public Health Course for Public Health Graduates. Front. Public Health 3:166. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00166
    5. Kindig D, Stoddart G. What is population health? Am J Public Health. 2003 Mar;93(3):380-3. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.3.380. PMID: 12604476; PMCID: PMC1447747.
    6. Bhosale AS, Urquhart O, Carrasco-Labra A, Mathur MR, Rafia K, Glick M. Population health and public health: Commonalities and differences. J Public Health Dent. 2025 Mar;85(1):40-46. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12651. Epub 2024 Dec 2. PMID: 39622770; PMCID: PMC11927948.