Outreach Opportunity Alerts
Outreach Opportunity Alerts connect members of the Caltech community with educational outreach opportunities in the Pasadena community and beyond for which they can volunteer. They are published monthly.
To join the newsletter mailing list for Outreach Opportunity Alerts, members of the Caltech community can sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/caltech/caltech-outreach-opportunity-alert-signup or email Kitty Cahalan, kcahalan@caltech.edu. Please give Kitty your name, email address, Caltech affiliation (undergraduate, graduate student, postdoc, faculty or staff) and department, option or research group.
October 2024
The new G1s and the undergrad class of 2028 have entered the building! It's that exciting time of year when everyone is meeting new people, getting settled in, and looking forward to all that the new year, or, for those of you new to campus, this new chapter of your life holds in store.
CTLO was pleased to meet many of you during your orientation events, and we hope those of you getting this Outreach Opportunity Alert for the first time find some tempting opportunities within. STEM Outreach is an effort that those who participate say helps them feel connected to the community, reinvigorates their interest in their own work, and gives them opportunities to grow in their teaching and communication skills. And that's not even counting the satisfaction of knowing you might have given a young person a new way of looking at the world around them... or their own future.
If you're interested in outreach, or want to know more, fill out this form (https://tinyurl.com/CTLOOutreachForm), and we will contact you to talk about the programs we have, or discuss your ideas.
And speaking of the perfect example, kudos to the Caltech Postdoctoral Association for putting on Explore Caltech this past Saturday, our first family open-house since before the pandemic! Hundreds attended, and kids and their parents universally praised the event and its many volunteers. Thanks to all who participated in making it a great day!
Now... read on for some of the current and upcoming opportunities!
CTLO Outreach Programs Seeking New Volunteers!
The Outreach Office is preparing for the start of all of our academic year programs, and we are always seeking volunteers for them!
Visiting Scientists is a teaching program that provides an opportunity for graduate students and postdocs to hone their pedagogical skills in an elementary school setting while developing relationships with students in a specific grade at our partner school, Madison Elementary. Each grade-level team teaches twice a month throughout the year. Volunteers spend 8-10 hours per month total between prepping lessons, teaching, and attending a monthly optional lunch meeting with CTLO to catch up on how things are going.
Contact Kitty Cahalan at kcahalan@caltech.edu if you're interested in joining or learning more. Instruction starts 4th week of October for 4th and 5th grades, and mid-November for 3rd grade.
Science Nights are opportunities for volunteers to get off campus and out into the local community, where you can do fun, hands-on science activities or talk about your work with young students and families. We can supply materials for you to use and help provide transportation and meals on event nights. Most events last about two to three hours and are within five miles of campus. There's no minimum number of events you must attend - sign up for as many/whichever events work for your schedule. Check back frequently, as this signup list is updated with new events throughout the year: https://www.volunteersignup.org/8M7FR
Also, consider joining the STEM Education and Outreach Club (see article below)!
SEAL, or Sustainable Energy Research Lab, is a research program that pairs one to three Caltech graduate student or postdoc mentors with one of four local high school clubs to work on a sustainable energy research project weekly or every other week throughout the school year (two groups meet on Caltech's campus; two at their own high schools). The program concludes with a seminar and poster session in May. Mentoring requires about 8-12 hours per month.
Contact Natasha Reich at nreich@caltech.edu if you're interested in learning more about this program. Expertise in chemistry/chemE, materials science, environmental engineering or microbiology especially needed, but all are welcome.
Finally, we help coordinate many Lab Tours - great opportunities for middle or high school groups that are farther away from campus and may not normally have easy access to Caltech or Caltechers - to introduce students to Caltech researchers and show off the spaces where they work. We are always seeking those willing to host a tour of their lab or provide an activity on campus for these groups. A tour will take an hour or two each time you offer to host. Most tour volunteers host two to four tours during a calendar year, but you can host as many or as few work for you/your labmates. Please contact Kitty Cahalan at kcahalan@caltech.edu if you're interested in hosting a tour in your lab or facility this year or next summer, and we'll contact you when groups request tours!
STEM Education and Outreach Club
STEM Education and Outreach Club is a new student-run club on campus that will create and present engaging hands-on activities for local school science nights and public STEM events, which happen throughout the school year at locations around Pasadena and LA. (See list of upcoming events here: https://www.volunteersignup.org/8M7FR)
If you're an undergraduate, graduate student or a postdoc who is interested in joining the STEM Outreach club, please contact Alexis Cho at adcho@caltech.edu or sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/OutreachClub
Pasadena Unified Needs Science Fair Judges
Pasadena Unified School District's science fair, Innovation Expostion, is a district-wide competition that invites projects in any of six categories:
- 3D Printing
- Reverse Engineering
- Science Fiction Writing
- Scientific Inquiry
- Invention
- Environmental Innovation
On Friday December 6, they will host their judging session at Blair High School during the morning. They are seeking judges willing to spend 2-3 hours that day listening to student presentations and providing feedback. All Caltech students, postdocs, staff and faculty are invited to be judges. Interested volunteers can sign up by filling out this form by November 22 at 5 pm.
If you need more information, please contact Kitty Cahalan, kcahalan@caltech.edu
Neighbors Empowering Youth Seeks Tutors
Neighbors Empowering Youth, a local education non-profit in Northwest Pasadena, is seeking volunteers to work with middle school students on math and literacy skills. Volunteers are needed starting Monday, November 11 for sessions on Mondays and Thursdays, 4-6:30 pm at the Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Pasadena 91103. For more information, please email Chris Sulzbach at chris@neyinc.org.
Local Middle School Robotics Team Seeks Help
Are you a former robotics team competitor, or someone with some level of expertise or who is interested in robotics? Sierra Madre Middle School has a very popular FTC robotics program which is in need of some mentors to help support the science teacher who coaches the team. They meet Tuesdays at 3:15 at the middle school. If you'd like to help, please contact Kitty Cahalan, kcahalan@caltech.edu.
We Don't Just Do STEM Outreach!
We know that Caltech has people doing their studies and research in areas that are not considered STEM fields, and we'd love to have those of you this applies to do outreach, too! We also know all our students, staff and faculty have many other talents - are you an artist, photographer, writer, actor, dancer, athlete, musician? Do you have a hobby you'd like to share with people in our community? We can do outreach with that, too!
Please let Kitty Cahalan (kcahalan@caltech.edu) know if you're interested!
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Caltech Educational Outreach Office's programs run on volunteers! If you would like to join any of our programs, or if you have a program of your own that you'd like to bring to K-12 students, contact Kitty Cahalan, Assistant Director of Educational Outreach, at 626-395-2468 or kcahalan@caltech.edu.