When he was 12, the family moved to a farm 30 miles from Chicago, an experience that led to the awakening of Rogers's interest in science. This came about in two ways. First, he became fascinated by a certain species of moth that he discovered in the woods. He did more than observe it; he captured some, bred and raised them over many months, and read everything he could find about moths. The second impetus to his interest in science was farming, which his father insisted be as scientific and modern as possible. He read the books his father brought home about farming, learning about hundreds of agricultural experiments. He came to appreciate the scientific method with its use of control groups, isolation of a single variable for study, and statistical analyses of the results. It was an unusual understanding for a boy of 15.