Grace Foote Johns, Daniel L. Holland, Jay Ansher & Tom Willmitch, Physics
Growing Town & Gown Networks: ISU Physics Educational Outreach Projects in Central Illinois (Ansher/Holland/Johns/Willmitch, PowerPoint)
The ISU Physics Department has long realized the importance of creating educational outreach opportunities in the wider community. Creating and maintaining these community networks with engaging outreach projects both helps us to broaden the appreciation of science and encourage young students to consider careers in the sciences. A key aspect of these and other ISU Physics community outreach projects is that we also involve our undergraduates, thereby fostering civic engagement in the next generation of scientists. This panel will talk about several different existing ISU Physics outreach projects and their implementation–Planetarium, AWIS-HOI Career Pen Pals Project, Solar Car Team, Physics on the Road, and others. We will then break into groups to facilitate participants’ discussions about how they might initiate community outreach efforts in their own disciplines.
