Felice Frankel Phenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science Around Us Candlewick Press 128 pages, 7.8 x 9.3 inches ISBN 978-1536234893
Felice Frankel
On Phenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science Around Us
Interview of
December 4, 2025
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In a nutshell
The main point I am trying to make in this book is to introduce the idea that science is everywhere. Everything we see. Everything we touch. Everything we look at. It is all science. And it's very beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. I want to get people to understand that ideas and discoveries in science can be accessible. We don't have to always describe these scientific ideas using jargon and technical language that may make a reader turn away. I want people to see the importance of science. I truly believe that if people were more engaged in science, we wouldn’t be in the trouble we are in. And we are in deep trouble. People don't trust scientists, they don't trust science, and of course, the politics are hardly helping the issue. Through Phenomenal Moments, I am trying to say to readers and to their parents and grandparents that science can be very beautiful and fascinating. Just take a look at what is around you. I hope – and perhaps this is my fantasy – that readers will not only look at the images in the book. But when they walk through their parks, and even in their kitchens, they're going to see something similar to what they saw in the book, and they can tell their grandmother, you see that? The reason why that is there, is because this or that scientific argument. And the more fantastical piece would be for them to take their own picture, store it, and keep it as a portfolio for their own science book. Maybe that's a long shot. But just maybe they can do something with it.
When the bottom of a copper pan is exposed to heat and air, it oxidizes, forming a thin layer of copper compounds—mainly copper carbonate. This patina develops through ongoing reactions that produce its colors.
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The wide angle
I was always interested in science. I am a very curious person, and most importantly, I am a very visual person. And so, I have always asked myself the question what is that? Even as a young child, I was always curious and it has remained with me. That is why I am in the research community. Being at MIT is a gift beyond words. The beauty of being at MIT is that I can ask questions as I am photographing science. And the scientists love to respond to me and answer my questions. But in the end, it was always the curiosity that took over, and partially the reason for this book.
Now I am a grandparent of two: one is 12 and one is 18. They joke around with me, because whenever I see something, I say, do you know what that's about? And then they would say, ‘Grandma, come on, stop being a scientist’, but…they really want to hear what I have to say. They are curious. I can see it. There is a curiosity among young people and young adults that somehow has been squashed. So, I am trying to revive that sense of curiosity from their childhood, while also making it cool and appealing. I want young people to ask questions and feel comfortable to wonder about why is this looking the way it is looking? This book probably stemmed from being a grandparent. I think that pushed it further. I wanted this book to bring their thinking into the conversation. As I was working on the book two years ago, I visited my grandson's science class. Will Melman, the teacher, was terrific in allowing me to come to class and showing images that I was considering at the time to include in the book. The students were painfully honest about some of them, which they really did not like. However, it became a guessing game, which is what the book is about. It's a kind of interactive guessing game. And they got into it. They really had fun trying to guess what it was. So the students were instrumental in helping me make selections for what to include in the book. Some of my favorite pictures they didn't like because they weren't colorful enough. Kids want color.
The Candlewick/ director, Hilary Van Dusen, was my editor, and she was the one who suggested we have a description of the moment since it was already in the title I thought of, Phenomenal Moments. This is the moment that I decided to take the picture, and the phenomenon is the science part. I'm trying to engage the reader to pay attention, to observe, and see that science is readable and accessible – and it can even be very enjoyable.
Students were instrumental in helping me make selections for what to include in the book
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A close-up
When I think of a browser in a bookstore, looking around, and happening upon my book, I hope it will spark curiosity, and they will wonder what is it? What is under the cover? The book itself is trying to nudge curiosity. Curiosity is within all of us – the book aims to nudge it outward and allow the person to see more around them. I hope to encourage younger readers to take a longer look. The book is organized as a double spread of the image. And then it asks what do you see? The reader could take a guess and then flip the page. There, they can see the full picture. They can also see a description of the moment and the phenomenon. And the whole book becomes an interactive guessing game. The visuals and the description of the phenomenon will hopefully make the readers curious about science – interested in what science can potentially offer to all of us.
Chlorophyll helps the leaves extract energy from sunlight, but in autumn chlorophyll is not being replenished. Yellowish and red pigments can now be seen.
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Lastly
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of this book would be to intrigue young readers and make them excited about science. I would love for them to remove these barriers of fear about science, be able to see that it can be clear and understandable, and is also stunningly beautiful. Readers can start engaging in asking questions, so when they hear a powerful person talk about issues in science and health, they won’t accept it right away. They would question it. They would ask “what is that?” and “why is that?”. These are small and basic questions, but we live in a society that seems to accept everything it hears based on the authority of the person saying it. I am trying to tell young readers don't accept it right away. Start asking questions, 'wait a minute, how can Tylenol have an effect on autism? What is that about? How can that be?' And that applies to anything else they hear. Be more curious. Ask questions. That would be the ultimate ideal for this book.
Silica spheres align over time, creating opal’s rainbow through light diffraction.
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