Online comics strip away the scary part of science

Science and learning in the Sunday funnies may sound a bit paradoxical, but if the creators of www.Howtoons.net have their way, you may just find illustrated experiments housed in between Doonesbury and Dilbert.

Paying homage to Japanese manga comics and Bill Nye the Science Guy simultaneously, the site is an online cache of downloadable, kid-engineering cartoon strips, just waiting for syndication.

One Howtoon describes the simple process for making ice cream. There’s no need to track down the Polysorbate 80 for this blend: Ice, salt, cream, whole milk, sugar, vanilla and the good stuff (chocolate chips, nuts, candy, etc.) are all the ingredients needed. For kids interested in oceanography, a 2-liter soda bottle can easily be converted into an underwater viewer; those more musically inclined can turn a turkey baster into a flute.

Howtoons are a project of SQUID:Labs, a Bay Area research and development think tank and the brainchild of partner Saul Griffith. While working on his PhD in nanotechnology at MIT, Griffith stumbled onto the “craftoon” genre (19th and early 20th century how-to books), epitomized by the now-seriously outdated manual “Handicraft for Handy Boys.” Griffith says that through Howtoons, he wanted to modernize the subject matter and move science away from its generally boy-centric universe.

“We want to teach kids practical building skills and remind them how much fun it is to make stuff,” says Griffith, who launched the project 18 months ago with the help of fellow MIT student Joost Bonsen and illustrator Nick Dragotta. “Howtoons are about learning by creating -- not learning by buying.”

However, some of the Howtoons depict science-experiments-with-attitude -- constructing bottle rockets and creating marshmallow shooters from PVC piping may be a little dangerous for the younger Einsteins. Griffith acknowledges that some of the experimentation may be riskier than others.

“But mischief is important to kids,” he says. “We do everything we can [so] that they won’t blow up in your face.”

That’s comforting -- we’ll only worry if the kids start asking for uranium and twine.