Outreach: A Graduate Student’s Perspective

By Rachel Henderson

Rachel Henderson is starting her sixth year of graduate school at West Virginia University (WVU). Working with Drs. John and Gay Stewart, she is a physics education researcher (PER). Rachel’s thesis is focused on how classroom diversity and inclusion impact scores on conceptual physics assessments. She, along with the WVU PER group, is also trying to understand why undergraduate students depart from STEM fields and how we, as physicists, can increase retention within the sciences, specifically in physics courses.

What experiences do you or your University have involving physics outreach?
I have helped organize “Space Day” and “Science Day” at the Spark! Imagination and Science Center, a children’s museum serving northern West Virginia with a focus on science literacy. These gave children of all ages a chance to learn about science through demonstrations and play. More recently, the WVU Physics & Astronomy Department hosted an event called “Physics of Baseball” after a minor league baseball game in Morgantown for about 40-50 girl scouts. Being a former college softball player, this event was a great opportunity to incorporate both my love of science and my love of baseball together, and teach kids how relevant physics is to the world around them!

How did you get involved in outreach?
My outreach experiences really began during my undergraduate education at Slippery Rock University. I participated in a service learning project for space science where the physics department put on physics demonstrations and a planetarium show. I also participated in many outreach events with the SRU softball team including Operation Christmas Child and many children’s instructional camps throughout the season.

In graduate school, I helped lay the groundwork for outreach events in the newly formed WVU Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization (PAGSO). Some of the organization’s foci include regular outreach events, coordinating prospective graduate student visits, and interfacing between physics faculty and graduate students to build a better grad school experience!

What is your favorite part of participating in outreach events?
It sounds corny, but my favorite part of participating in outreach events is seeing the excitement from young children and students. Graduate school has its ups and downs but participating in outreach activities always gives me the reminder of why I chose to study physics — it reminds me of my passion for understanding how the world works! I’ve always had a passion for teaching young scientists and bringing physics outside of the classroom to people who love science but don’t have the chance to see it in action, that often is even more rewarding! I enjoy providing fun opportunities to learn about science and hopefully am able to somehow make it relevant to a child’s interest. There’s the chance you’re recruiting a future Nobel Laureate into science every time you lead an event.

Being a graduate student member of the Forum on Outreach and Engaging the Public (FOEP), what do you find to be the most beneficial?
I find the FOEP sessions and events at the APS meetings the most useful. (A talk at a FOEP session doesn’t count toward a research talk, so you can give one even if you’re talking elsewhere in the week!) Gathering ideas from other faculty and students about what is going on at their university is always encouraging. It’s a chance to ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other and maybe even bring bits and pieces back to my own University for a future event!

Stay tuned for more perspectives on outreach from other Physics & Astronomy Graduate Students!