About GWIS Outreach:
A main focus of our organization is to reach out to students and community members to educate them about science in a fun, accessible way! Our Outreach co-chairs organize science demonstrations every month for community events, such as science fairs, family science nights, working with local elementary schools, and by participating in the Young Women in STEM Workshop (YWIS). We always need volunteers to help out at these events, so be on the look-out for our next call for volunteers!
All of our volunteers must complete their yearly mandatory reporter training. If you haven’t done so, please go to the following link: psuohrlearning.skillport.com and complete the course.
Notable Events:
Exploration-U
Hosted by the ECoS Outreach Department, we frequently present a science related booth with varied themes at local middle schools. Themes have ranged from revealing hidden messages with house hold chemicals to understanding (and playing with) electromagnets!
Easterly Parkway Science Fair
We plan hands-on activities for students and parents at this, and other, local science fairs to give the community a chance to interact with real life scientists, and hopefully learn something along the way!
ENVISION: STEM Career Day for Girls
Faculty, staff, and students are needed to provide middle school girls with positive role models who are active in STEM studies and careers, to foster the girls’ awareness of career opportunities in scientific and technical fields, and to help increase their interest in STEM through immersive, hands-on experiences.
Eventapalooza
Eventapalooza is a large-scale community science event put on by our local TV studio-WPSU at Innovation Park. Each year, about 1500 people (including 500+) children attend over a 3 hour period. Along with other members of the communtiy we are also able to presnt along side famous PBS kids characters that visit for that day, including big names like The Cat in the Hat, Daniel Tiger and Splash + Bubbles!
Haunted-U
Every year, just around Halloween, that special magic comes to Penn State and we have the chance to put on special Spooky Science demos for kids and families! Faculty, staff and students are invited to do a short demo or skit in the lab for the audience (10 min only, then groups rotate).
2022-2023 Outreach Co-Chair Contacts:
Jessica Lee: jxl1845@psu.edu
Neha Patwardhan: nsp5295@psu.edu
