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Curiosity:  A strong desire to know or learn something.  Curiosity is NOT the end product, but the process.
Synonyms: inquisitiveness, meddling, prying, interest, skeptic, questioning,  thirst for knowledge.
Questions:
1.  What is curiosity?
2.  Turn and talk with a friend about a time when you were curious?
3.  Is asking questions important?  Why or why not?
4. What makes a good question?
Curiosity Survey: Take this two minute survey put together by Harvard Business Review to determine your curiosity level.  Survey appropriate for students too.
Harvard Business Review Curiostiy Survey
Related topis: The Design Process

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Teacher Resource
Check out these teaching tips to promote and discuss the importance of curiostiy in your classroom. The video is from TED ed and the tips listed below are from  Edutopia www.edutopia.org

10 Ways to Stimulate a Student's Curiosity

1. Value and reward curiosity.

Often, the temptation is to reward students when their curiosity leads to a desired outcome or good grade. But it's more important to notice and reinforce curiosity when you see it in action. When you praise students by describing how their questions, explorations, and investigations are contributing to their own or classroom learning, you let them know that they are valued for their motivation, regardless of the grade they achieve.

2. Teach students how to ask quality questions.

Quality questions are a vital medium for curiosity. Google is great at finding answers but doesn't stimulate the formation of questions. Good questions contain "why," "what if," and "how." An excellent book for understanding the art of questioning is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.

3. Notice when kids feel puzzled or confused.

Is there a "teachable moment" that will spark a desire to search for answers? How can you invite students to see problems as mysteries waiting to be solved?

4. Encourage students to tinker.

Tinkering might be constructive play with feelings, concepts, ideas, and materials. How can students create a new widget, essay, blog article, poem, science experiment, service, or product from their explorations? Tinkering with materials, thoughts, and emotions stimulates curiosity and leads to innovative outcomes.

5. Spread the curiosity around.

Create opportunities for more-curious and less-curious students to work together in project-based learning. Curiosity is contagious in groups working toward a real-world common goal, helping to cross-pollinate questions and new ideas.

6. Use current events.

News reports can lead students to ask purposeful questions that help unearth what's beneath the surface of societal problems. According to research, asking "why" is the critical ingredient in unraveling these difficult conflicts. This often gets to the fundamental reason for why people disagree about solutions.

7. Teach students to be skeptics.

The term skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos, meaning "to inquire" or "to look around." A skeptic requires additional evidence before accepting someone's claims as true. He or she is willing to challenge the status quo with open-minded, deep questioning. Galileo was a skeptic. So was Steve Jobs.

8. Explore a variety of cultures and societies.

How is one culture or society uniquely different from another one? Encourage students to investigate their genetic or emotional links to other cultures. Why do they relate to certain beliefs or values that other societies hold?

9. Model curiosity.

You can do this in your respectful relationships with students by exploring their interests, expanding upon their ideas, and engaging them in meaningful dialogue about what matters most.

10. Encourage curiosity at home.

Help parents understand the importance of curiosity in their child's development and suggest ways that they can foster it at home. Supportive caregivers can have a tremendous impact on developing curiosity and other essential abilities.

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Ramsey Musallam: 3 rules to spark learning

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It took a life-threatening condition to jolt chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam out of ten years of "pseudo-teaching" to understand the true role of the educator: to cultivate curiosity. In a fun and personal talk, Musallam gives 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited about how the world works.

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Curiosity Video Clip Grades K-3
Use these clips in your morning meeting to stimulate conversation about curiosity.

WALL-E Gets Curious. Wall-e finds new toys and rather than running them over he demonstrates curiosity and plays with  them.

The Switch.  A man stumbles upon boxes and his curiosity nudges him to explore.

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Curiosiity Video Clip Grade 4-6
Use these clips in your morning meeting to stimulate conversation about curiosity.

Stop-Motion Short Clip.  A man gets tired of his mundane routine and his curiosity leads him to make a change.
Curiosity TedX Kids.  8 minute clip from a dyslexic adult sharing the importance of curiosity for all students.
ET Clip. ET tries to explain to the kids where he is from.  They are curious about his life.

Brian Grazer Clip.  Famous movie and tv producer talks about how curiosity drove his career.  He produced many movies with Ron Howard.  To provide students with a bit of background knowledge on the movies he produced click here.

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School Curiosity Activity
After reading or watching the story book, "The Curious Garden," By: Peter Brown take your class for a wonder & wander walk in the Mercer woods. Allow students' curiosity to guide them and explore the creek.  Ask stuents to observe things as they take their hike.  For eample:
- changing leaves
-bugs in the water
-fossils
-broken down bridge
-overgrown areas on the path
-overlook with missing railings
-birds
-trees
When you return take note of the things that students observed and what they might be wondering.  You can do this through journalling, large group share time, sketch noting or any way that suites your class.  During this time, project the music video "Upside Down," by JackJohnson
Perhaps they are wondering where the water in the creek comes from or where it dumps into or they are wondering the history of our path or if we can fix any of the broken spots on the trail?  See if their wonders lead into any possible innovations to be created in the maker's space or projects

Can their curiosity move your class towards a project? Be sure to share your experience and if it led to anything beyond the walk with the culture team and on instagram.

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The Design Process
Curiosity leads to questions, wondering & wandering.  This often leads to wanting to figure somethings out, problem solve or innovate.  Go through the slides of the Design Process with your class throughout this month and discuss and learn more about The Design Process.