Discipline-Based Education Research Group
Date of this Version
11-8-2012
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Abstract
Informal science education is an important and rewarding activity for scientist and scientists‐in‐training. We are fortunate at the University of Nebraska to have over 90 of faculty research group working with materials and nanoscience, and involving hundreds of students, post‐docs, and visitors. Some of us have banded together to develop an extensive nanoscience outreach effort that reaches nearly every corner of our community, with activities in a wide range of venues – in the schools, at the mall, at summer camps, with civic groups, at Science Cafés, at the Big Red Road Show, and many others – wherever you might find people who are curious about science. We reach hundreds of Nebraskans each year and think that we are having a significant impact on science literacy, as well as helping to recruit future STEM professionals. We hope that some of our experiences, both successful and not‐so‐successful, will show how you can contribute effectively to informal science education, often for a very small investment of time and effort. This work is done under the substantial sponsorship of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, and with support and encouragement from our own departments, the National Science Foundation, Nebraska EPSCoR, and professional societies. For more information on these and other activities, surf on over to http://www.unl.edu/ncmn/outreach/index.shtml