Outreach Opportunity Alerts
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, [email protected]. Please give Kitty your name, email address, Caltech affiliation (undergraduate, graduate student, postdoc, faculty or staff) and department, option or research group.
September 2026
The quiet before the storm, or, in the case of this week, after the literal storm! Our new students will start trickling in just as the hot weather starts to calm down (we hope), and in a few weeks we'll be in full swing with orientation and recruiting for outreach programs. Even with the lull in academic year responsibilities, we still have lots of opportunities for people to take advantage of if they're ready for it. See below what's new in outreach!
Art Contest Winners
We are extremely pleased to announce our winners of the art contest held over the summer! Thanks to all who participated, it was fun to go through the entries!
Our winners are:
Jessica Gonzales, whose art will be displayed on stickers the Outreach Office hands out this fall
and
Laurie Tan, whose art will be printed on new outreach T-shirts we'll be handing out to volunteers this year!
Thanks and congratulations, Jessica and Laurie!
CTLO Outreach Program for 2026-27
Our academic year programs will be getting going soon, and we are always seeking new volunteers to help us make them run! Our programs span the gamut from teaching to mentorship to public STEM events. There are options for people who have 10 hours a month and for those with just an occasional evening free. Every volunteer and every hour makes an impression on local students and families, and it keeps your engagement skills polished, too!
Science Nights
Our science night program brings Caltech students and researchers to local school and STEM events. You bring an engaging hands-on activity that demonstrates some concept, the attendees at the event get to meet a Caltech scientist they can learn from. CTLO Outreach Office has dozens of activities to choose from if you want to attend but aren't sure how to get started. CTLO also supplies rides and meals on the event nights!
Sign up for our events here, and bookmark this link - we are always updating it as we get invited to more events: https://www.volunteersignup.org/8M7FR. We'll reach out the week before to work out carpools and determine what activity you'll be doing.
Time commitment: 2-3 hours per event, sign up for as many events as you wish.
Visiting Scientists
Visiting Scientists brings Caltech volunteers to Madison Elementary School in Pasadena to do hands-on science lessons that fit the topics their teachers are covering during those months. Volunteers work in grade-level teams to teach third (8-year-olds), fourth (9-year-olds) or fifth (10-year-olds) grade classes twice a month throughout the year. This is an opportunity to practice lesson-planning and classroom management skills, as well as to make a difference at a local school where kids benefit from building relationships with working scientists.
This year we will begin the program with a training for all volunteers from an experienced K-12 STEM instructor who will provide the fundamentals on lesson planning, including integrating grade-level math and language skills into lessons, as well as classroom management techniques.
Time commitment: 6-8 hours per month including optional monthly check-in lunch meeting
SEAL
SEAL, or Sustainable Energy Activity Lab, pairs Caltech graduate students and postdocs with one of four high school clubs to mentor the students on sustainable energy research projects. SEAL mentors are typically studying chemistry, chemical engineering microbiology, bioengineering, materials science or applied physics, but no area of expertise is excluded. Two clubs meet at Caltech and two off-campus, and clubs have multiple mentors.
Time commitment: 8-10 hours per month including optional monthly check-in lunch meeting
Questions about any of the programs above, or ready to get started? Contact Kitty Cahalan, [email protected]
TechGYRLS
The TechGYRLS program seeks to empower young girls in the areas of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and to encourage them to pursue careers within these fields, particularly for underrepresented girls. TechGYRLS is a place to dream, explore new ideas, learn new skills, and be creative through STEAM activities. TechGYRLS workshops include Sphero and LEGO Robotics, and mentorship opportunities.
Hosted by the Caltech Y, TechGYRLS will be meeting in Hameetman, on these (currently tentative) dates:
- September 29
- October 6 & 20
- November 3 & 17
- December 1 & 15
They are seeking any Caltech student volunteers who may be interested and available to provide onsite presentations and hands-on activities with their students.
Interested volunteers should reach out to Gabriela Abrego at [email protected] for more information.
PCC STEM Speaker Day
The Pasadena City College's STEM Competition and Society Club is hosting a STEM Speaker Day on Saturday, November 9, from 12:00–1:00 PM. They are bringing in STEM professionals to share their career journeys with PCC students. The goal is exposure and inspiration — speakers talk about their specific field, how they got there, challenges they faced, and any advice for community college students pursuing STEM at the higher-ed level. It's meant to be conversational, not a technical lecture, followed by Q&A.
They'd love to have one or more Caltech students, postdocs, faculty, or staff join as speakers from any STEM discipline.
If interested, please reach out to Kitty Cahalan at [email protected].
Altadena Library of Things
The Altadena Library is building a Library of Things for loan, and planning a "petting zoo" to get to know these things on January 22 from 5:00-6:30 pm at Loma Alta Park in Altadena.
They're interested in inviting Caltechers to help demonstrate the use of some of the science equipment, including how to use the microscopes and telescopes.
Anyone interested in supporting this event, please contact Kitty Cahalan at [email protected].
Volunteers Needed for Temecula Hackathon
NASA Space Apps Challenge Temecula will take place November 14–15, 2026. The free, in-person hackathon brings together students, researchers, engineers, designers, and other builders to develop projects using NASA and partner-agency data. Interested participants can learn more and get started at https://temeculaspaceapps.vercel.app/
If you need more information, contact RJ Farrales at [email protected].
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 ([email protected]) know if you're interested!
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 [email protected].