Return to Spijkenisse with Spider-Man and research lessons from superheroes

School talks for autumn kick-off with return to De Ring van Putten and “A Superhero’s Guide to Scientific Research”.


It’s always great to return to a school to share more science-based stories inspired by superheroes, Star Wars, and other popular culture icons.

On Tuesday September 3rd I was invited back to De Ring van Putten in Spijkenisse to speak to mavo and havo students as a kick-off for their big project assignments, which they will be working on over the coming months.

Superhero support

To help them navigate the world of science and the process of scientific research, I showcased some of the topics that I’ve been researching over the years such as invisibility materials, spider silk, and light.

There to offer moral support was a select few of my superhero and supervillain crew (You can’t have superheroes without supervillains – hence the inclusion of Thanos). And they even took part in the experiments too.

Embrace failure

As I concluded my interactive session, I reminded the students that they should embrace failure. With this statement I do not suggest that they should aim for failure. Instead, they shouldn’t run away from failure and use setbacks as the motivation to strive for success in whatever project they are working on.

The students at De Ring van Putten will present their final project outcomes next year, and I look forward to hearing some of the student presentations and the brilliant innovations that they devise over the coming weeks.

A huge thank you to Charles Julien and Annemieke Goelema for inviting me to speak at De Ring van Putten once again, and for hosting me during my visit to the school.

And best of luck to all of the students at the school with their upcoming project work!

Always think super!

Barry W. Fitzgerald, September 2024.