Commentary Related to Experiences in Outreach
Many people react to the word “physics” with fear and panic due to bad experiences from high school or hearing from others about their difficulties with the subject. Oftentimes, physics concepts are taught abstractly with a focus on just equations leading students to treat the class as another thing they need to pass. Because of this, some students may complete their physics course stressed about the subject and never witnessing the beauty of the science. My goal is to replace the unease with awe and inspire the next generation of scientists to pursue science. As a Wonders of Physics Outreach Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, I am committed to conducting physics outreach and plan to encourage children to be curious about the world by engaging in several physics outreach events such as the Annual Physics Fair, Grandparents University (GPU), Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE), and more.
My love for teaching led me to be part of PEOPLE this summer where I met around 20 bright high school students from Milwaukee and Madison interested in physics. This summer, I also participated in GPU, an intergenerational event where grandparents and their grandchildren are invited to share a love for learning. I and a few of my peers led a physics course complete with hands-on experiments for both children and adults to enjoy. These experiences greatly improved my public speaking skills and allowed me to gain expertise in interacting with the general public on physics. Previously, my experiences with physics and people have been confined to teaching and research presentations where the agenda is about immediately getting information across. With outreach, it is different in the way that the goal is to inspire people. You want them to leave with a sense of excitement and wonder.
I also served as a docent for UW-Madison’s L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum. The museum contains more than 65 physics demonstrations ranging from the large Newton’s pendulums to rotating platforms to gravity pits. This role has allowed me to master explaining physics concepts in a fast but also entertaining manner.
Through these outreach events, I hope to inspire the Madison community to be curious and not afraid to find answers to questions that they have. I plan to continue to be part of these outreach events next year and become a Senior Fellow.