Lest you think science is boring or operating in a vacuum. I show this diagram to my older science students (9th grade and up) after introducing to them to the science process with a simpler version of this diagram. These diagrams were produced by these folks.
The goal is not to make science needlessly complex, but rather to acknowledge that scientists have different motivations, start the science process in different places within an amazing and dynamic framework, and interact with many different people and ideas along the way.
Science is not a 5-7 step linear process, but rather system of nodes with feedback loops. Explore this diagram with your older children and to make it even more fun think of any single scientific investigation as a story with a plot, intricate details, twists, and brimming with creativity!
