Our department is proud to have a long-standing tradition of outreach in physics that we expect to continue for decades to come. We host the second-oldest hands-on science museum in the world, have presented The Wonders of Physics annual live physics demonstration shows since 1984, and have sent our traveling The Wonders of Physics show to locations across Wisconsin and the world for over three decades.
Wonders of Physics Outreach Fellows are graduate students who volunteer their time to share their love of Physics with the next generation of scientists. They are trained in outreach best practices and mentored by the department’s professional outreach staff, giving these students a foundation in physics outreach that we hope they’ll continue long after they graduate. We asked them why they participate in outreach, and share their answers, below.
Support Physics Outreach
Running any of these outreach programs requires staff time and material resources. We participate in Day of the Badger each year to raise funds for our outreach initiatives.
The impact of outreach on our graduate students
Ayshea Banes
"Outreach is important to me because I feel like representation is a big factor in general. And so I love that I can be onstage or just be out in the community, and people that look like me see that they can be in the position that I'm in right now."
Braden Buck
"Outreach is so important because it can inspire the next generation of young scientists. Apart from just being really fun, it's honestly something else to see: the smiles and the fun that the kids have in the audience. It's a really fun atmosphere."
Joe Flavahan
"I volunteer because it's what you learn when you're a kid that gets you excited about science. The scientists of tomorrow are made today. Getting children invested is the best thing we can do for the progress of science."
Raheem Hashmani (left in photo)
"From the moment we're born, we're curious about the world, how things work, how things go around, what makes clocks tick. Outreach inspires kids to go out and figure out things about the world, which in a nutshell is what science is all about."
Sam Kramer
"I love to see that moment where people start to understand something and start to build an appreciation for what they are learning. Doing physics outreach allows me to help build that appreciation for physics and science at a young age."
Ali Mand
"Outreach is really important to me because it's part of the reason why I got interested in physics in high school. Now, I want to do the same thing for the younger generation and help inspire them to become the next generation's leading scientists."
Mitanshu Thakore (middle in photo)
"Outreach is important because 1) researchers need to tell taxpayers how money is being used so that we can keep pushing the boundaries of science 2) representation matters. If someone sees me and feels a familiarity, then ok, they can do this, too."
Lael Verace (middle in photo)
"To be honest, it's very fun! Getting out here, showing physics demos, doing what we love, there's really nothing else like it. As I study physics more and more, it's nice to come back to demos, to the things that could inspire the next generation."
Photo credits:
Max Wolfe, UW–Madison Office of Admissions and Recruitment, all photos except the photo of Sam Kramer
Taylor Wolfram, University Communications, photo of Sam Kramer