Does getting kids interested in science at an early age make a difference? Is it important? Can Cell Press, a publisher of scientific content for and by highly specialized researchers, play a role in getting kids excited about the scientific method?

The answer to these questions, believes Kerry Evans, senior managing editor of Immunity and the American Journal of Human Genetics, is yes.

In an era in which issues such as climate change and research funding are politicized, educating future generations about why science matters is more important than ever.

"I think there's a big hole right now in how this works," Kerry said when we spoke. "There are people who think that science is just another lobby group and just another agenda."

And so, for the past few years, Kerry has been the link between Cell Press and Frontiers for Young Minds, or FYM—an online, open-access scientific journal written for elementary and middle school students.

The journal has been published by Frontiers Media in Lausanne since 2013, and its mission is to connect kids and scientists through published research and energize young people "to ask informed and critical questions about real science throughout their lives."

FYM publishes both new research (what it dubs "New Discovery") and review ("Core Concept") articles. The authors rewrite their original papers, published in specialty academic journals, to be accessible to readers aged 8–15 years. After that, the papers are sent for peer review.

But not to just any reviewer. The reviewers are kids.

How do kid reviewers know what to do with the article, you ask? They are paired with mentors who will take them through the peer review process and encourage them to ask questions or make suggestions. Authors are obligated to address each and every comment a kid reviewer puts forth before publication.

Yes, even if the comment is, "This seems important, but the way it is written is so boring I can't even get to the end. Could the authors maybe sound excited about what they are doing?" (Neuron authors Robert Knight, who came up with the idea for FYM, and Sabine Kastner shared this reviewer comment in their Neuroview on the journal.)

This is how kids learn about the scientific method, Kerry says, which is important, "even if they don't go on to become scientists."

Kerry first read about FYM in a Discover magazine article, which prompted her to share the initiative with the Cell Press community via a post in the company's weekly newsletter. When, in 2015, former Neuron editor-in-chief Katja Brose received communication from Robert Knight asking if Cell Press could contribute to FYM, Katja thought of Kerry as the project's most obvious and best champion.

"It really spoke to me because I'm very interested in education in general—and science education in particular. I think that Cell Press could play a really important role in science education," Kerry said.

So Kerry went forward and interfaced with FYM's Amanda Baker, with whom she worked to come up with a contract between the journal and Cell Press. Neuron was set up to be the first natural contributor to the journal, but the hope was that the contract would be broad enough to ensure other Cell Press journals would eventually be able to take part, too.

Kerry then began going through recent Cell Press archives to begin recommending articles suitable for FYM through the online portal.

"How do I choose them? I look at the topic and read the abstract or read a press release," Kerry said. "But it doesn't necessarily have to be press-worthy to be interesting for kids. I ask, Would my kids think this is interesting? Would I think this is interesting?"

She and a few of our other employees have recommended 22 Cell Press articles so far. One of the first recommended Neuron articles, "Remembering or Forgetting: The Lifetime of Memories," just published on FYM in March.

Robert Knight noted in the article in Discover magazine that though editors have the option to decline their participation for one reason or another, 47 of 52 had accepted.

There's good reason for that. Knight notes in the article that when scientists "come up for tenure, you have to show your work in three areas: research, teaching, and public service. This hits all three."

This isn't the first time Kerry has played an active part in getting kids interested in published Cell Press research. She's packed a few journals under her arm and headed to her kids' classrooms to talk through cool papers in a way that is engaging to young kids. Students will watch videos about animals from Current Biology papers, which Kerry admits are easy to get kids to get interested in. But she has even played videos about genome sequencing.

FYM's scope is broad, and subjects range from neuroscience to astronomy to environmental science. Kerry is currently working to establish a workflow that will ensure that the breadth of all Cell Press titles will eventually be able to contribute to FYM.