In Brockton, MA, the team was curious about the possibility that volcanoes were once in their city. The team developed a plan that included reading research from web sites and watching videos on volcanoes. In addition, the team visited a science museum and a local park to examine the large rock outcrops. Finally, the team called the geology department at a local university to learn if someone could answer questions about possible volcanic activity in Brockton.

The Brockton team members embody the qualities of active researchers - they searched for information from a variety of materials and sources.

ScienceQuest coaches should encourage their teams to dig deeply for information. To gather information from a number of different sources, coaches should help teams read printed materials, ask people for information, watch movies, CD-ROMs, and/or slides, and do an activity. You will learn more about each of these categories in the How to Do It section.

Why so many sources?

Encouraging SQ team members to gather information from a variety of sources provides opportunities for team members to learn about multiple perspectives. Judith Zorfass suggests that this learning is important as "young adolescents begin to relinquish a single world view."

In addition, as youth team members sort through possibly conflicting information from multiple sources, they learn what one young investigator articulated, "You probably need to ask several people the same question and not just rely on one response."