K-12 Outreach Introduction
| K-12 Outreach Kits | Next Topic |
Outreach Overview
These kits are being assembled for loan to CMDITR members to enhance their outreach activities. Each kit contains materials for several demonstrations and in some cases hands-on materials that are suitable for various grade levels. There is one kit for one general interest area.
As a scientist who is deeply immersed in your research it is easy to overestimate the sophistication and content background of children. Even common events that you might consider everyday students may have not encountered. One of the reason of doing hands-on demos is to give students a shared concrete experience on which to build understanding and connections.
The table below suggests the topics that might be appropriate for each audience. Note: sometimes the materials in a kit might be quite impressive to kids even when the scientific explanation is inappropriate at lower levels. We assume you will be adjusting your presentation to make it fit the audience and venue.
Outreach Kits Topic Matrix
| Kit | Elementary Topics | Middle School / Public Topics | High School Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Optics and Lasers | Light goes straight, Color mixing | Lenses, optics, refraction, reflection, absorption | Polarization, Diffraction, emission spectra, dye sensitized solar cell |
| Photovoltaics | Solar car, Batteries | Angle /area dependence, Types of PV cells | Total efficiency, measuring VC curves, color absorption |
| Light and Telecommunications | Optical fiber, water stream demo, | Total internal reflection, Tyndal effect | Polarization, Interferometer, Index of refraction, optical networks |
The Kits
- Basic Optics - Outreach Kit
- Lasers and Telecommunication- Outreach Kit
- Photovoltaics- Outreach Kit
- Nanocrystalline - Dye Solar Cell Kit
Education Standards
Science classroom time is packed full and teachers have many specific educational objective that are dictated by their districts and states. One key to being welcomed to the classroom is to relate your presentation to specific content they have to cover anyway. Even if your specific science is not covered you can switch the activity format to address general process skills such as observation, hypothesing, designing an experiment and interpreting results. Careers and the connect between science, technology and society are also hooks that tie into must curricula.
To learn what is taught at various grade levels check the National Science Education Standards, AAAS Project 2061 and the links to state Science below.
National Science Education Standards - Grade level Content
AAAS 2061 Benchmarks - The Physical Setting
Education World State Standards Links
National Science Teachers Association- Science Scope and Coordination
More Hands On Demos and Activity Ideas
HANDS ON OPTICS- (from OSA, SPIE and NOA0
APS Project Sol- Animation explains silicon solar solar cells
Solar Cell Kit-How to build your own solar cell
Innovative Methods to Teach Optics in the Grade 5- (including jello optics)
Institute for Chemical Education- Source for kits
Video labs in Nanotechnology from Univ. Wisconsin MRSEC
Rochester Optics demonstrations for Eday
OSA classroom materials including the Optics Suitcase
Resources for Informal Science Education
Informal Science Education - Good resource to see what museums are doing with outreach activities.