Event encourages campus to share science

The Science Alliance welcomes all members of the university community interested in sharing science with the public to the 2004 UW Science Outreach Exchange on Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Genetics/Biotechnology Center, 425 Henry Mall.

“Whether you volunteer your time or science outreach is your life’s work, come to the Science Outreach Exchange and meet other outreachers, share ideas and expertise, and connect with science outreach programs that can leverage your talents,” invites Tom Zinnen, a biotechnology outreach specialist with UW–Madison/Extension and convener of the Science Alliance.

The free event will feature short presentations and hands-on Exploration Stations. “Outreachers will share the methods and philosophies that drive the ways they share science with learners of all ages in communities all across Wisconsin,” says Greta Zenner of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. “This helps outreachers and new volunteers learn from a range of programs and approaches, and hone their own skills in the full scope of sciences and engineering.”

Experienced outreachers are eager to help recruit, train, schedule and recognize people – from students to alums, researchers to retireers – who help engage the public in the scientific enterprise of the university, says Ana Garic-Stankovic, a researcher in Nutritional Sciences and a member of the Informal Science Education team of the NSF-funded CIRTL/Delta project. “Plus, it’s a way we can give the public the feeling that they have a stake in the university, and we can do our part in helping the university achieve its goal of “Amplifying the Wisconsin Idea,” she notes.

The UW Science Outreach Exchange underscores the growing role of service-learning by putting campus resources to work with community partners.

“We’ll be connecting students just starting their service-learning projects to the infrastructure of science outreach,” says Brian Hagen, an AmericorpsVISTA member leading the new Volunteers in Science Outreach, or VISO, program.

Free parking for the event will be available in Lot 20 after 4 p.m. For more information, call Zinnen at 265-2420 or visit http://science.wisc.edu.

The Science Alliance works to synergize UW–Madison science outreach programs and to speed public access to the university’s people, facilities and other resources to explore science.