As an environmental microbiologist, I recognize the importance of disseminating my research and knowledge to the general public. Being a member of the Penn State community has provided many opportunities to teach people from all walks of life about bacteria and fungi and other microorganisms, as well as common soil properties. Most activities that I have been involved with have focused on young people, which is always fun because they ask very sensible intelligent questions that always keep me on my toes! Plus, kids are always willing to get a little dirty and texture soils!
|
PA 4-H was so much fun last year, I decided to put together an activity for 2018, as well. I must say, I am continually surprised at how insightful our youth is and it is great to see their parents involved in their education.
This years activity was based on microbial ecology and resource acquisition. It already sounds complicated, right? WRONG! I gave every participant in a group a specific microbe and told them the 'food' necessary for their microbe to grow. Each participant scavenged the 'soil' for 'food' and the person who captured all of their 'food' first was the winner. I thought I would be clever and make sure there wasn't enough 'food' for everyone, too. :) 
|
|
|
In 2018 and 2019 I had the opportunity to work with girls at the EnVision Science Outreach. The event is geared toward girls interested in STEM and is held at Penn State. The station that I was helping with was the "Lemon Battery Challenge" and developed by my dear friend, Jenelle Fortunato. This activity required the girls to pair up and create electrical charges using lemons and lemon juice. The girls were really interested in this activity and had no problem rising to the challenge. It is also fun to be reminded about how smart these young women are and to see how bright their futures can be.
|
One of the more intricate lemon batteries. Included 10 lemon halves and two cups of lemon juice.
|
|
Emily and I, along with our fellow Soil Science graduate students, set up a booth in the Forest Resources Building on World Soil Day. Our booth had legume nodules, vermicompost, clod (our life-size version of a soil aggregate), microscope slides of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and soil aggregate stability demonstrations.
|
Emily showing off claud the clod to a student in our Ecosystem Resource Management department at Penn State.
|
|
I volunteered at the "Ask a Scientist!" booth at the People's Climate March in April 2017. Our booth included graduate students across the campus who were excited to share their research and answer questions that attendees asked. Not only was this a great experience talking about my research to the general public, but I also got to meet graduate students and hear about their research, too.
|
At the "Ask a Scientist" booth. There were so many great scientists present from a wide variety of disciplines.
|
I also volunteered at the annual 4H Wildlife and Forestry Field day (2017). The theme was "Research Rocks" and I designed an activity for students to use their creativity and build their own microbes. Participants were given an interesting, common soil microbe-most of which were "good" microbes. Below are some photos from the event. Oh yea, did I mention that Clod the clod also made a guest appearance?
