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.