Zack Kopplin facts for kids

Zachary "Zack" Sawyer Kopplin (born July 20, 1993) is an American activist and journalist from Louisiana. He is known for working to keep creationism (the idea that the world was created exactly as described in religious texts) out of public school science classes. He has also worked on other causes related to the separation of church and state, which means keeping government and religion separate.

Kopplin has spoken out against school voucher programs. These programs use public money to send students to private schools, some of which might teach creationism instead of science. When he was still in high school, Zack got 78 Nobel laureate scientists (scientists who have won a very important award) to join his campaign. They worked against the Louisiana Science Education Act, a law that allowed creationism to be taught in science classes.

Zack Kopplin also cares about how much money is given to science research and what is taught in school textbooks. He even started a campaign called "Second Giant Leap for Humankind." This campaign asked for a lot of money to be invested in research and education.

Kopplin has been interviewed on TV shows like HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. He was even called the "Doogie Howser of political activists" by MSN.com, meaning he was a very young and smart activist. Many news groups around the world, like The New York Times and Washington Post, have featured his work.

About Zack Kopplin

Zack Kopplin was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His parents are Andrea D. Neighbours and Andy Kopplin. His father, Andy Kopplin, has held important roles in the government of New Orleans.

Zack graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 2011. He then went to Rice University in Houston, Texas, and finished his studies there in 2015.

On a radio show called Science Friday, Zack shared that he was born with anosmia. This means he cannot smell anything.

Fighting for Science Education

Zack Kopplin has done a lot to make sure science is taught correctly in schools.

Challenging the Louisiana Science Education Act

When Zack was a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, he started a campaign to get rid of the Louisiana Science Education Act. Many scientists around the world said this law allowed creationism to be taught as science. Zack ran his campaign through a website called RepealCreationism.

He worked with Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson. She is a Democrat from New Orleans. Senator Peterson tried twice to get rid of the law and promised to keep trying until it was gone.

With help from a Nobel Prize-winning chemist named Harry Kroto, Zack got 78 Nobel laureate scientists to support his effort to repeal the law. Other famous scientists, like Kenneth R. Miller, also supported him.

Zack also got major science groups to back his campaign. This included the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is the largest science organization in the world. He also got support from the Clergy Letter Project and the New Orleans City Council.

Improving Science Textbooks

Zack Kopplin played a big part in helping the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education choose new life science textbooks. After the new books were chosen, a newspaper called The Baton Rouge Advocate said Zack was "the newest giant-killer in state education policy." This meant he had a huge impact on education.

Zack also led a campaign to stop Louisiana lawmakers from trying to change the board's decision about the textbooks.

Looking at School Vouchers

Kopplin has also been involved in discussions about how to improve education in America. He found and showed that many schools in Louisiana's school voucher program were using creationist lessons or teaching creationism. He worked with MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry Show to show that over 300 voucher schools across the country were teaching creationism.

The Second Giant Leap

In 2013, Zack Kopplin and journalist Lamar White started a group called Second Giant Leap for Humankind. This group asked for $1 trillion (a very large amount of money) to be spent on scientific research and development. They also wanted to stop laws that deny scientific facts. Zack wrote an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, asking him to support this campaign.

Zack debated Stephen Moore, a writer for Wall Street Journal, about whether funding science is a good investment. This happened on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Zack pointed out that Moore was not a scientist when Moore questioned some science grants. This part of the show became very popular online.

Challenging Michele Bachmann

According to the Huffington Post, Zack Kopplin challenged Michele Bachmann to prove her statements that Nobel Prize-winning scientists supported creationism. Zack made this challenge because so many Nobel laureates had supported his campaign against creationism. A newspaper in New Orleans, Gambit, also asked her about this when she was in the city.

Awards and Recognition

Zack Kopplin has received several awards for his work. He won the National Center for Science Education’s 2012 Friend of Darwin Award. He also won the 2012 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Education. He is one of only two people to win both of these awards.

Gambit Weekly in New Orleans named him the 38th most important newsmaker in New Orleans in 2011. The Houston Chronicle said Kopplin was one of the most fascinating people living in Houston. In 2014, he received the Howard Schachman Public Service Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also got the Courage and Justice Award from the LSU Manship School of Journalism.

Zack Kopplin even helped inspire a Doonesbury cartoon about Louisiana’s law. He was named a "Truthdigger of the Week" in December 2012 by Truthdig, a website that focuses on progressive ideas. He was also called a "Foot Soldier" on the Melissa Harris-Perry show.

See also

In Spanish: Zack Kopplin para niños

• Academic Freedom bills
• Barbara Forrest
• Science education