Volunteer Opportunities
Get Involved!
Whether you want volunteer hours, would like to share your research with the world, or just love science, the Office of Science Outreach has a way for you to get involved!
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
We need volunteers year-round for virtual, on-campus, and school events! Penn State students, student groups, labs, and employees can help us run events, community members in STEM fields can serve as speakers, and local STEM-oriented companies can table at some of our events. If you are interested in volunteering for any of the programs we run, consider signing up for our volunteer newsletter! We'll send you a monthly menu of outreach events and ways to be involved!
We are currently recruiting volunteers for the following:
ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women
This all-day event features workshops and networking sessions designed to expose middle and high-school-aged women to potential academic and career pathways in STEM. We are currently seeking volunteers, and there are two different ways to get involved.
Interactive Workshops -The interactive STEM workshops are the heart of the ENVISION event! We are currently seeking proposals for 60-minute workshops that are designed to engage 20-25 middle and high school students in hands-on inquiry and exploration of STEM topics. Faculty members, post-docs, graduate student groups, and undergraduate student groups are encouraged to submit workshop ideas! If your lab, department unit, or student group is interested in running a workshop, please complete this Workshop Proposal Form by 5 pm on January 22, 2025.
Volunteer as a mentor or other individual role! - Our volunteers are the strength of the ENVISION event! They get to know and inspire the attendees, guide groups around campus, help with important tasks, and share their experiences. We can't hold ENVISION without them!.
- Mentoring -Our mentors serve as guides for a group of 5-6 young students throughout the ENVISION event. Along with leading their groups through three workshop sessions, mentors also serve as important role models for participants by providing encouragement, sharing their own stories, and answering their group's questions throughout the day. Mentors will receive lunch and an event T-shirt! A sign-up link will be available in early 2025.
- Supporting/Logistics Volunteer -If you're excited about getting young women involved in STEM, and are interested in helping manage the logistics of a large event, this is the role for you! As a supporting/logistics volunteer, you'll play a crucial role by setting up event spaces, signing in volunteers, and helping make sure the event runs smoothly throughout the day. A sign-up link will be available in early 2025.
Please note that spots are limited, so we may not be able to accept all applicants. We will notify you if we are unable to accept additional volunteers. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Caitlin Teti (crt5160@psu.edu).
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL
Our Virtual Science Festival was created to provide free virtual resources featuring Penn State student organizations, community groups, research labs, and local STEM companies. This online resource serves as a repository of fun STEM videos, engaging DIY science activities, and other educational resources for parents, teachers, and kids alike. New content will continue to be added! If you have material to share, please contact Caitlin Teti at crt5160@psu.edu for more information.
Work With Us
If you're interested in working with us at our Science-U Summer Camps, check out our positions here.
Classes
We run two classes for Penn State students - check them out below!
Science Outreach Classes:
Are you a freshman or sophomore with an interest in developing your science outreach and communication skills? Then, sign up for our section of SC 294-001: Research Project Courses – Introduction to Science Outreach and Communication! Learn the best practices of science outreach and communication and practice your skills with real-world audiences through assignments like developing your own outreach activity and writing a blog post for the College of Science website! See below for more information.
Course Description
This course is taught by Office of Science Outreach staff and will introduce participants to the different forms of science outreach and science communication, as well as underlying theory, best practices, and challenges. Activities and assignments will include designing and leading science outreach activities and creating communications pieces that share science with the public (e.g., blog posts, videos). This course is designed for students who want to develop their science outreach and communication skills so that they can be effective science advocates, educators, and communicators throughout their careers. The course is targeted at underclassmen, though juniors and seniors are not discouraged from registering.
*The 1-hour weekly course meeting time is determined based on the mutual availability of all students registered.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
- How will the 1-hour class meeting each week be scheduled?
Since this is a small course (enrollment is capped at 10 students), we will coordinate our weekly meeting time over email with all students before the semester begins. - Isn’t SC 294 just for getting research or internship credit?
SC 294 is a course titled “Research Project Courses” that has mostly been used for research or internship credit in the past. Since this course is also fairly project-based, we were able to use the SC 294 course number to offer our special science outreach and communication-focused section of the course! - Is this the same thing as the CHEM 297A freshman seminar that has been offered in the past? This course will be based on some of the content from CHEM 297A (which we will no longer be offering), but we will also be adding in new opportunities and assignments based on student and faculty feedback. The goal of the course is the same – we want to help students who are interested in outreach and communication develop their skills and connect them to opportunities to practice their skills and get involved!
Course Description
SC 451 will provide students with the skills and experience necessary to design outreach activities based on their research and interests, communicate their science in multiple modes, and engage with diverse audiences. Lectures will provide foundational material via a focus on the fundamentals of science communication and outreach, as well as some of the pedagogical basics of science education. Guest speakers will build upon this groundwork by leading modules on lesson planning for effective outreach and communicating with audiences through a variety of platforms, including social media, personal or professional blogs, media interviews, and press releases. These guest modules will be supplemented by panel discussions (with outreach and research professionals from Penn State) on science engagement in different settings (e.g., museums, extension meetings, public science lectures, K-12 classrooms, etc.), disseminating research via social media, and creating and integrating research-related outreach into broader impact statements for grant proposals.
The design of student outreach projects will provide a unifying thread throughout the semester, as students work in small groups to create, refine, and implement unique outreach activities following best practices outlined in lectures and panel discussions. Students will be encouraged to choose topics outside of their normal studies, expanding their ability to communicate science with which they are less familiar. Students will have multiple opportunities to both receive feedback from their peers and instructors and offer feedback on their peers' projects. Students will exhibit their activities at an event, and in doing so, practice the communication and engagement skills they developed throughout the semester. Through this process, students will gain experience disseminating science, as well as confidence in their ability to accomplish successful science outreach. Afterward, students will evaluate and reflect on their experience and use this self-evaluation to refine their activities for future use.
Interested in getting involved?
Contact us via email at outreach@science.psu.edu or give us a call at (814) 865-0509
Office of Science Outreach, 201 Ritenour Building, University Park, PA 16802
