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The “Out” in “Public Outreach” at Weber State University

The “Out” in “Public Outreach” at Weber State University. Brad Carroll, Dept. Physics, WSU. Four Strategies:. Traditional outreach Bringing selected groups to WSU Sending faculty and majors to public schools Interdisciplinary outreach to non-majors. Traditional Outreach.

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The “Out” in “Public Outreach” at Weber State University

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  1. The “Out” in “Public Outreach”at Weber State University Brad Carroll, Dept. Physics, WSU

  2. Four Strategies: • Traditional outreach • Bringing selected groups to WSU • Sending faculty and majors to public schools • Interdisciplinary outreach to non-majors

  3. Traditional Outreach • Talks for Lions, Elks, Audubon clubs • Guest commentaries in local papers, magazines • Presentations for local elementary and high school classes

  4. Traditional Outreach • Ritchey Lecture (endowed) given annually • Gene Shoemaker, Steve Vogt (extrasolar planets)

  5. Traditional Outreach • Get out where the people are! • Physics booth at the Weber County Fair • Exhibit in theater for “Attack of the Clones”

  6. Traditional Outreach • Planetarium run by director and 5 physics students • 18 astronomy classes taught in planetarium • Hosts ~200 events yearly to ~8000 people (nearly half are special presentations to school groups) • Budget $4500/yr, plus grant from Utah State Office of Museum Services

  7. Traditional Outreach • Student-run public observing sessions at WSU • Free every Wednesday night • Supported by Ogden Astronomical Society • Most telescopes donated

  8. Traditional Outreach • ~20 off-site public star parties per year • Numerous locations, including out-of-state and public schools • Run by faculty and Ogden Astronomical Society

  9. Traditional Outreach • Ogden Nature Center • Summer Solstice Celebration • Creatures of the Night (Halloween)

  10. Traditional Outreach • Natural Science Museum • Run by emeritus faculty • Coordinates with planetarium in serving school groups • Budget a few $k • Grant from Utah State Office of Museum Services • In Lind Lecture Hall

  11. Student Activity Scholarships • Full tuition waiver • Participate in community and school district outreach programs • Planetarium and museum each have two scholarships, physics department has one • Prepare for a fight persuading your university scholarship committee to grant these!

  12. Selected Groups to WSU • S4 (Science Seminars for Superior Students) • Run by Center for Science and Math Education • Presentations by faculty and outside specialists

  13. Selected Groups to WSU • Utah State Science Olympiad • Run by Center for Science and Math Education • Physics faculty and students are event supervisors

  14. Selected Groups to WSU • MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) and STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering) programs • Increase the number of underrepresented minorities and women who enter and succeed in science and engineering • Tours given by faculty and physics majors • Statewide, reaches over 3000 annually

  15. Selected Groups to WSU • Science teacher workshops (NASA, NSTA) • Run by Center for Science and Math Education • Taught by faculty

  16. To Public Schools • SPS tutoring in high schools • Awarded the Blake Lilly Prize

  17. To Public Schools • “From Spreadsheets to Space” video distributed to local high schools • Produced by physics faculty and majors

  18. To Public Schools • Model rocket clubs • Supervised by physics faculty and students

  19. To Public Schools • Project Starshine • Shuttle will place a mirrored satellite into orbit for observation by K-12 students • Director Gil Moore (Morton Thiokol) • Physics faculty supervise polishing of mirrors by public school students

  20. To Public Schools • “Gifted and talented” programs • Activities led by physics faculty

  21. To Public Schools • After-school enrichment programs • Presentations by faculty and students

  22. Interdisciplinary Outreach • Half-time physics faculty position belongs to WSU Honors Program • One course per semester taught for Honors Program • “Energy and the Environment”“Energy and Entropy”“Physics of the Mundane” • Three Cortez professors in physics • Physics faculty on Honors Faculty Advisory Council • “Pizza with a Prof” talks

  23. Interdisciplinary Outreach • “Physics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard” • Read Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Arcadia, and Hapgood • Theme: How much control do we have over our lives (philosophy and physics)?

  24. Interdisciplinary Outreach • In preparation: “Measuring the World” • Read Mason & Dixon by Thomas PynchonThe Measure of Reality by Alfred W. CrosbyComing of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris

  25. Interdisciplinary Outreach • Interdisciplinary faculty collaborations • A five-year series of independent study courses on astronomy with a WSU artist • Painting selected by Swedish Academy of Sciences for 2003 Nobel physics poster

  26. Interdisciplinary Outreach • “Principles of Physical Science” for elementary education majors • Team-taught with a chemist • Students have close contact with both instructors

  27. Interdisciplinary Outreach • Physics majors as ambassadors • Some SPS events open to all

  28. Essential Ingredients • Commitment to volunteer and service work • Cohesive self-motivated group (faculty and students) • Realistic goals

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