Outreach
The Ohio University Chapter of the Society of Physics Students began Science Club in the 2005-2006 school year as a five session after-school program designed to show first and second graders at West Elementary School (Athens, Ohio) the exciting side of science through demonstrations and hands-on experiments. By introducing these children to science at an early age, we hope to spark further interest in the subject. In our first year, we used demonstrations that could easily be done with everyday items or materials already possessed by our Department of Physics and Astronomy. The program was well received by students and parents and we were invited to return for another year. With additional funds from the local PTA, individual parents, and a Marsh-White Award, the Science Club was improved for 2006-2007 with safer, age-appropriate tools and experiments. The program continued in the spring of 2008 with twenty participants at West Elementary.
This year, we also have professors presenting at the Science Cafe. Here, they reach a broad audience of students over coffee in one of OU's busiest buildings.
Ohio University Society of Physics Students