Making Stuff Outreach at the Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University

Abstract

The U. S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory in Ames, Iowa was a coalition partner for outreach activities connected with NOVA’s Making Stuff television series on PBS. Volunteers affiliated with the Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, with backgrounds in materials science, took part in activities including a science-themed Family Night at a local mall, Science Cafés at the Science Center of Iowa, teacher workshops, demonstrations at science nights in elementary and middle schools, and various other events. We describe a selection of the activities and present a summary of their outcomes and extent of their impact on Ames, Des Moines and the surrounding communities in Iowa.

In Part 2, results of a volunteer attitude survey are presented, which shed some light on the volunteer experience and show how the volunteers’ participation in outreach activities has affected their views of materials education.