Demonstrating my foam flow cell at the IU Physics Open House, Fall 2006.
Bubbles make good science, but mostly are FUN!
Graduate student Benji Zaitlen discussing surface chemistry with students from a local high school.
Outreach
My Activities
As a graduate student, I regularly volunteered for the IU Physics Department's free tutoring services (Physics Forum) as well as the yearly IU Physics Open House (including setup and exhibit preparation). As a postdoc I have continued my involvement in the open house, and now also volunteer at our local science museum, WonderLab, assisting in exhibit design and construction.
Some of my original exhibits include the Brachistochrone that defies intuition by showing that the quickest path between two points is not always a straight line, and a Seismic Selector that gives you a feel how earthquakes with different frequencies affect different building sizes.
I have also had high school students tour my foam experiment and learn about the many uses and interesting scientific questions related to foam.
Future Plans
I think designing demonstration equipment and exhibits is a great way to learn physics and develop useful hands-on skills. I think this would make a great research based education experience. I have learned through many experiences—years of working at my physics department open house, assisting at my local science museum, WonderLab, and teaching—that designing effective and engaging
lecture
demonstration and physics exhibits is not as simple as just setting up an experiment or activity. It is critical to anticipate what the observer will actually see when they look at the demo or exhibit. Will they focus in on the details I want them to? After all, I know exactly what is supposed to happen; they don't.
Museum exhibits need to work at different levels for different age groups. They need to be toy-like and inspire fun and play while
simultaneously demonstrating important scientific concepts. They need to be engaging enough to maintain interest, yet durable enough to sustain use. Although the intended audience may not be science experts, making sure exhibits actually demonstrate the scientific principles we intend them to requires careful thought, study, and a deep understanding of these principles.
Such challenges and constraints create excellent opportunities for undergraduate education and experience through senior theses or REU projects. I will seek funding to build a program in which undergraduates design, build, test, and display lecture demonstrations and museum style exhibits. These will be permanent, high quality works to be used for education and outreach. They can be used within the department and also lent out to other institutions, including local elementary and high schools. The students who build them could introduce them to teachers and/or classes and then leave them to be played with and explored. Some might also end up in science museums. Potential Funding Sources: NSF Informal Science Education, US Department of Education: Mathematics and Science Education Research, private foundations: Braitmayer, George Gund, Carnegie, etc.