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Fall 2018
EXPLORATION-U @Bellefonte Nov. 13, 2018 Volunteers: Jessica Gaby and Brandi KamermansEXPERIMENTS PERFORMED: Exploring your senses: jellybean taste demo, skull demo, and microscope station AUDIENCE SIZE: 100 children and 50 adults (approximate) 
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Spring 2016
EXPLORATION-U @Bald Eagle Area High School, February 25th 2016 Volunteers: Jaroslav Jansky, Veeresh Thummadi, Joseph Lee Hill Jr, Jian GaoEXPERIMENTS PERFORMED: Extracting DNA. We extracted DNA from cheek cells by asking the students to flush and gargle water to extract cheek cells. This is put back into the cup and this water solution is put into an ethanol solution. After precipitation, the DNA appears in the solution as a white substance. This is then put in trinket a given back to the students in form of a necklace. We also had a back up experiment of working with vinegar, baking soda, funnel and water and balloons. AUDIENCE SIZE: 200 children and 200 adults (approximate) |
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Fall 2015
EXPLORATION-U @Bellefonte Area High School, November 10th 2015 Volunteers: Jaroslav Jansky, Veeresh Thummadi, Sarah Craig, Tian ZhangEXPERIMENTS PERFORMED: Balloons experiment with baking soda and pins. We inflated the balloons through the reaction of dry ice with water in a funnel and the by gas emitted through the reaction inflates the balloon. We also used the baking soda and vinegar also to inflate the balloons. In addition, we also used the pins to show how the balloons can be broken with one pin; and not so easily when there is uniform distribution of pressure (i.e., multiple pins on a cardboard). AUDIENCE SIZE: 200 children and 200 adults (approximate) |
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Summer 2015
Spring 2015An enthusiastic group of eight volunteers hosted a table at Exploration-U at the State College Area High School on March 24. The outreach event was a success, attracting a huge audience of 347 children and 330 adults. It was an exciting opportunity for us to bring hands-on STEM to the local State College community while cultivating our own communication skills. We presented two experiments, the lemon battery and dancing raisins. For the lemon battery, children were encouraged to pick their favorite citrus fruit or potato and press in two or more different metals (copper, zinc, steel or aluminum). The voltage, measured by voltmeter, was used to power LED lights. In the second experiment on the other side of the table, raisins were forced to dance in CO2-filled water. The event was successful and joyful for the visitors, and even more so for the presenters. Our postdoc volunteers displayed great creativity and adaptability as they were mastering the experiments while simultaneously presenting to a large and diverse audience. We have learned an important lesson about thinking outside of the box: “If life gives you lemons, create electricity.” |
Lemon Battery Experiment
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Fall 2014
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In fall 2014, postdocs participated in two outreach events. In the Halloween-themed Haunted-U on October 19, we presented glow-in-the-dark silly putty which created a glowing Halloween-like effect in the dark. Every visitor was able to prepare their own putty and take it home. In the Exploration-U event in Bellefonte on November 13, we teamed with Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) to demonstrate the use of red cabbage broth as a PH factor indicator. The effect of household liquids (pickle or lime juice, antacid, etc.) changing color after adding red cabbage indicator attracted much attention and provided an opportunity to present a few basics of chemistry. Our volunteers did an outstanding job of handling large numbers of participants by forming smaller working groups, and displayed a remarkable ability to quickly adapt their presentations to varying audience sizes and compositions. |
Halloween-U
Bellefonte Exploration-U
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