Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!

"I'll be in Portland, Oregon this Thursday, March 11 to talk about volcanoes."

That's all Bill Nye says, and that's all he needs to freaking say.

I love Bill Nye. And NO, not just because he has the same awesome last name as me, but because Bill Nye thinks EVERYTHING is cool and he makes you think everything is cool. He has a passion about the universe that is rarely seen in teachers today. Not only that, but he possesses a tirelessly creative mind that is always working out the best ways to teach kids everything from the elementary to the expertise. He raises the bar for kids too, which is something I love. It drives me crazy (whether in Christian ministry or in education) when I hear adults say, "They won't understand that," or, "No, they would never get that...they'll get that later." What bologna (spelled that right the first time!). Kids rise and fall to the standard YOU and I set for them. They won't appreciate Poe or Picasso or physics if you don't. Bill Nye did that with science. He made it awesome. He was never afraid to use different medias and technologies to help kids understand the wonder of the world they walked on. And in the process of doing that, his show won 18 Emmy's in five years. Yeah. Bill Nye was the greatest teacher of the 90s, and certainly in the top 5 of the greatest teachers of all time.

For those who grew up in a loving family, Bill Nye the Science Guy is no stranger to you. I check his blog more often than I should and found out he's in Portland tonight. Boo yah! First Congregational Church is going to get a healthy dose of some SCIENCE at 7pm. $5 for students.

This is his rant on volcanoes after he tells us he'll be in town:

Like so many of you, I am a big fan of volcanoes, and in the Northwest, we have one in our backyard. Mt St. Helens is an extraordinary place. One that has expanded our understanding of volcanoes, the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates, and the remarkable nature of how ecosystems develop on volcanic soils. It’s much faster than most scientists expected. There’s rain and a rain of insects. There are loose rocks that become places to fix nitrogen. Volcanoes change and shape our world. So do we, it turns out. The more we can understand volcanoes and our place among them, the better we will do in the coming decades. So come this Thursday. It’s all for you in… the Subduction Zone, where tectonic plates rock, da’ lava bombs, and it’s all magmalicious! Drag your friends kicking and steaming! We’ll see you there Thursday Night!

Kicking and STEAMING....you gotta love this dude.