Happy #Thanksgeeking: Readers Give Thanks To Their Science Mentors (PHOTOS)

This Thanksgiving, we'll give thanks for family and friends, for good health and great food. But what about saying thank you to the people who made you who you are? (And if you're reading this, you're probably a science geek.)

Here at HuffPost Science, we know science isn't just a class in school or a hobby -- it's a way of looking at the world. So this holiday, we asked our readers, "Who would you want to thank for turning you into the scientist or science lover you are today, and what would you tell them?"

Hundreds of community members tweeted (#Thanksgeeking), Instagrammed, Facebooked, emailed, and commented 'thank you notes' to their science mentors and inspirations. What we found was science lovers everywhere were eager to show gratitude to science teachers, professors, graduate school advisers, and science icons. Some wrote heartfelt notes to science inspirations such as Carl Sagan, Neil Armstrong, or Bill Nye.

But most of all, readers chose to thank Mom and Dad for showing them a world where science helps make sense of the complexity around us -- parents who encouraged curiosity, learning, and experimenting.

Click through the slideshows below to see how science lovers everywhere chose to celebrate ThanksGEEKing.