Phys101 Service-Learning Experiences

Spring 2007

Brandon Kearns - In my service-learning project I have been helping out at the Planetarium with the "Zoom In" exhibit. I assist visitors with any questions they may have.  The premise behind the Zoom In! exhibit is that there is a great deal of existence that is not visible to the naked eye. The exhibit starts at the microscopic level (around the order of 10-15 - I think) and extends all the way to the order of the gamma ray bursts. I have learned a great deal about UNC's involvement in the discovery of gamma ray bursts and our participation in the SOAR and PROMPT projects. I hope to learn more about what they could possibly discover next because it seems that gamma ray bursts were a huge milestone for astronomy. In class, we studied orders of magnitude and it was nice to be able to connect what we learned in class to something tangible.  I can most easily see the impact the exhibit is having on the younger population. I enjoy it most when children ask me questions and are truly interested in the answer. That is when I feel that I am contributing most.

Caius Roth - I've been facilitating the planetarium's new Zoom In exhibit which deals with astronomy and microscopic cells. So far I have gotten a good start and learned a little bit about the planetarium and how they tend to guests, and I've gotten to experience that as well, answering questions and such.  I've learned how to speak to guests, including small children, about science, answer questions, and show them how things work. I hope to improve this understanding and communication skills. Some of the material we demonstrate is similar to what we learn in Phys 101. The best way to learn something is by teaching it.  The planetarium staff is receiving necessary aid in dealing with a very new exhibit, which includes troubleshooting in some cases.
A more complete report on my service-learning experience can be found here.

Spring 2008

Brittany Leake -  Working at the Planetarium was a great experience.  The time requirement was a bit of a strain, considering that I had another job at the same time, but I would have had to do it eventually, so it was better to get it done with something fun and relatively simple.  For most of the time, I worked in the exhibit “Zoom In,” both with employees and alone.  This exhibit explores current research at UNC on things close up and far away (i.e. Cystic Fibrosis and Gamma Ray Bursts).  Both of these sections of the exhibit involve concepts learned in my Physics class, namely energy and microscopic interactions.  Mainly my job was to answer questions and help visitors around the exhibit.  It was mutually beneficial, since visitors learned about science, and I reinforced the concepts I learned in class by teaching them.  The best thing about it was when I got to work at the Nanoscience Family Science Day.  For this, we had a bunch of different stations, and I was working with a science major at the “forces and reactions” table.  This was great, because I got do demonstrations for the kids, and watch their amazed reactions.  One demonstration involved small cups and large cups, teaching children that water won’t pour out of a small cup because of capillary forces being stronger than gravity.  Again, the fact that I was in a physics class really helped me to explain the concepts to the kids, since we learned about similar things in class.  This experience was a lot of fun overall, and I would definitely recommend it for others.