At a young age, a boy was given his grandfather's chemistry set to play with. Little did his parents expect that it would propel him to a career in science that would lead to him becoming a household name.

Bill Nye will come to the Show Me Center at Southeast Missouri State University April 3 as part of the University Speakers Series.

The scientist and comedian became interested in science as a young child. Nye said he began observing the world around him at around the age of 3.

"I remember very well watching bees as a little kid ... and my older brother had a chemistry set and he also had the propensity of many young men to blow stuff up, and so we did," Nye said in a phone interview. "We spent a lot of time outdoors observing nature, and I spent a lot of time on my bicycle."

Nye was also given his grandfather's chemistry glassware set, which further fueled his interest in science.

"My grandfather was an organic chemist who taught at Duke [University] for a while and then later Hopkins [University], and he worked for a chemical company in Baltimore," Nye said. "I was given his glassware to play with, and in those days an organic chemist of his level would blow their own glass the same way a modern chemist might write his own computer programs. It was a skill that those people had. And I just remember being fascinated with that -- it was the coolest thing ever."

Several years after graduating from Cornell University with a bachelor's in science with a focus in mechanical engineering, Nye began to do stand-up comedy. During this time he developed the idea for his famous show "Bill Nye the Science Guy."

"The very first 'Science Guy' bit was about household uses of liquid nitrogen because we all had liquid nitrogen around anyway, who doesn't?" Nye said. "So it was about different things you could do with liquid nitrogen, and it was funny."

Nye took great pride in creating a television show that not only entertained but also educated children about science.

"When we would craft or build an apparatus, fixture or mechanism that clearly illustrated a point of science, that was always fun," Nye said. "It gave me great joy."

After "Bill Nye the Science Guy" ended in the late 1990s, Nye became the CEO of the Planetary Society. The society is an international, non-profit organization, and its goal is to advocate for space exploration.

"Space explorations really drive humans to pursue their greatest achievements, so this is of great value to everyone on earth," Nye said.

Nye will speak about environmental issues and how we affect the world around us during his presentation at Southeast.

"I don't know that I've spoken to a student who doesn't know who he is," said Joanna Shaver, coordinator for campus programming. "Whether they are a fan or not a fan, if you say 'Bill Nye the Science Guy' I think most students in this age bracket know of him ... For the students I think this is the most popular person and the most popular name that we've brought in."

Shaver also said that Nye's presentation will be more factual and informative in contrast to other speakers.

"We've had some of our other speakers talk about their personal experiences and leadership styles, but that could also be very subjective, but Bill Nye is coming to talk about science and about how the environment is changing," Shaver said. "It will be a little bit about his story and how he got involved, but his mission is to get other people interested in science."

Nye plans to talk about what he refers to as "awareness of our place in space" or "our place in the cosmos."

"These are the most important things in the world," Nye said. "When I was in college there were a little over three billion people in the world and now we have over seven billion. The world's population has more than doubled in my lifetime. When I was in school we probably had 280 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and now we have almost 400. This change has happened faster than ever in history, and this affects everybody."

Shaver hopes that after the presentation every student who came to see Nye will understand and better appreciate the world of science.

"I'm fully expecting a lot of students from the college of science and math to be there, and, of course, they already appreciate science, but I'm hoping students will be going from other colleges and other realms of education," Shaver said. "I hope these students are the ones that will come out with a better appreciation of what people have to do to learn about the world of science and what people are doing to protect our planet."

In contrast to the humorous science projects he's come to be known for, Nye hopes students take his message seriously.

"[I want students to walk away with] the desire to change the world and with a few ideas about what to change," Nye said.

Nye will speak at 7:30 p.m. April 3 at the Show Me Center. Tickets are $10 or free with a Southeast ID and can be purchased at www.showmecenter.biz or UC room 202