Twenty members of the Society of Physics Students at Colorado School of Mines shared their love of physics with students at Pinnacle High School earlier this spring, encouraging them to pursue science and higher education with hands-on demonstrations.
The chapter’s annual outreach event was funded by the Future Faces of Physics Award, given by the national Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma to promote physics across cultures, particularly among people from groups historically underrepresented in the field.
“We take all of our demonstrations and experiments to the school and put on an interactive day of science for the students,” said Lindsey Hart, president of SPS at Mines. “We make worksheets to help guide the students’ thinking and learning so we can help them understand the physics, in addition to seeing how exciting it can be.”
The demonstrations, which took place April 27, featured five stations: electricity, magnetism, mechanics, vacuum/fluids/sound and optics, each with a lead volunteer with expertise in the topic. “Our goal is to encourage high school students to think about going to college and pursuing science, and to help our members develop their leadership and communication skills,” Hart said.
The group has also brought its presentations to local middle schools to cultivate the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Contact:
Mark Ramirez, Managing Editor, Communications and Marketing | 303-273-3088 | ramirez@mines.edu
Ashley Spurgeon, Assistant Editor, Mines Magazine | 303-273-3959 | aspurgeon@mines.edu
