Exploring Your Universe: Integrating Sustainability into Science Outreach

Executive Summary:
Exploring Your Universe (EYU) is the largest student-run science fair at UCLA. The goal of EYU is to share science to a broader audience through hands-on learning and inspire the next generation of scientists. However is EYU focused enough on sustainability? Dominique’s project focused on highlighting sustainability at the annual science fair.
Exploring Your Universe is an amazing event designed to inspire all ages (with an emphasis on the underserved youth) to get involved in science. Sustainability is the focus of many scientific disciplines. Dominique’s goals for this project include recruiting booth volunteers and speakers in the field of sustainability to create a main stage of experts that will present and answer questions on sustainability. In years past, exit surveys have revealed that most attendees’ favorite activity of EYU was the Q&A sessions where they could ask an expert any question (for a given topic). She will invite the general public and encourage all booths to think on their sustainable practices and supply lists for their booths.

Importance:
Exploring Your Universe is an amazing event designed to inspire all ages (with an emphasis on the underserved youth, K-12) to get involved in science. Sustainability is the focus of many scientific disciplines and yet the even itself could be improved both on the organizational side but for the public facing side too.

Impact and Reach:
My project included recruiting booth leaders/speakers in sustainability to have a main stage of experts present and answer questions on sustainability. In years past, exit surveys have revealed that most attendees’ favorite activity of the event was the Q&A sessions with experts that they could ask any question (for a given topic). I have and continue to encourage all booths to think about their sustainable practices and supply lists for their booths. For the past two EYUs, I have personally run a booth (on dynamics of the ocean and the weather systems) and been a speaker (on how the Sun affects the Earth through its radiation). This last EYU was the first EYU where the booth banners were asked back (to be reused again) and supplies were prioritized by need.

Collaborators:
Exploring Your Universe (EYU) is entirely volunteer-run and organized by a graduate student committee. Collaborators include student groups and clubs, departments, and faculty across all science disciplines at UCLA.
Exploring Your Universe has many financial sponsors including: the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences; the Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics; the Campus Programs Committee of the UCLA Program Activities Board; the UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences; the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy; the UCLA Galactic Center Group; and the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Role:
As the Communications Chair for EYU’s Organizing Committee in 2020 and 2021, I led the communications team. I was responsible for recruiting and maintaining a roster of both speakers and booth leaders as well as inviting the general public. With the goal of focusing on sustainability, I recruited leaders and experts in sustainability (e.g. Jordyn Moscoso on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, De’Marcus Robinson on Explore Your Ocean, Jacob Bortnik with Ask a Physicist!).
I was responsible for all communication via email for the organizing committee. I maintained and emailed our contact lists, inviting past and future attendees. As the manager of the email account, I was the point person for all contact with the general public.
I also coordinated with the Finance Chair at the time to ensure all booths have materials ordered before the event, emphasizing sustainability with these orders. For example, if booth leaders use common household items (like mason jars, pens/pencils) to conduct their experiments, not only will the experiment be more accessible for attendees, but also less waste will be created in the form of purchasing redundant items.

Next Steps:
While the project was completed with EYU 2021 (November 7th, 2021), the work continues with each year as I find ways to still contribute to the event during my PhD.