Academic Outreach

Hands-on scientific investigations are widely recognized as one of the best ways to teach science. As a science education 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Science Buddies offers a variety of resources that support these activities to teachers, parents, and students from all walks of life.

Science Buddies provides free science fair Project Ideas (detailed outlines of scientific questions and the experimental techniques and resources needed to address them), online advice and guidance from science professionals, and science fair tools. In 2010, our website was visited by approximately 9.8 million unique students, parents, and teachers of diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented minorities.

Approximately 56% of visitors during 2010 were female.

By partnering with Science Buddies to create Project Ideas based on your research, you can help inspire thousands of students, annually, while meeting your own academic outreach and research grant funding needs.

Science Buddies Can Help You Secure Research Grants and Meet Academic Outreach Needs:

Research grants, such as NSF grants, often require that the research team demonstrate the broader impact of its work and/or disseminate its findings to the general public. Many universities and institutes also encourage their researchers to reach out to the community. To help you meet these academic outreach requirements, Science Buddies will:

• Provide a forum where science fair Project Ideas, based on your research, can be accessed for free by K–12 students, parents, and teachers. On average, each Project Idea is visited by 14,000 users annually.
• Help you and your research team conceptualize, write, and electronically publish Project Ideas on our website in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Depending on the options you choose, writing a Project Idea could take as little as 3 hours of your time.
• Assist in grant writing by providing grant funding proposal paperwork, such as a customizable NSF Broader Impact Statement and a Letter of Collaboration.
• Provide usage statistics on the Project Ideas you publish, which can be incorporated into your research grant reports, future research grant proposals, and community outreach write-ups.

Examples of Science Buddies Research Grant and Outreach Collaborations:

Science Buddies has had extensive experience and success collaborating with individual researchers, academic institutes, and corporate sponsors to create Project Ideas in more than 30 areas of science. Our services have been particularly useful in helping professors secure NSF research grants, including NSF early career development (CAREER program) grants, and in aiding institutes in fulfilling targeted science education campaigns. Examples of previous academic outreach partnerships include researchers at:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
• Molecular Sciences Institute
• New York State Museum
• NOAA
• Princeton University
• Scripps Institute
• University of California, Santa Cruz

These are some of the Project Ideas which have been developed under the program:

• Finding the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy Using Globular Star Clusters
• The Milky Way and Beyond: Globular Clusters
• Water to Fuel to Water: The Fuel Cycle of the Future
• Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Saving Migratory Birds
• Blasting Flu Viruses
• Computational Exploration of Protein Function
• The Tree of Life - I (basic)
• The Tree of Life - II (advanced)
• Investigate Native Plant Evolution with Chloroplast Sequencing
• Harbor Porpoise Movement
• Harmful Algal Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay
• Hurricanes and Climate
• Swimming in Acid: Understanding Ocean Acidification
• Are We There Yet? Test How Migratory Birds Navigate
• Do Migratory Birds Like It Hot?
• With A Little Bread as Bait Can You Make a Bird Migrate?

We invite you to browse our Project Ideas library for additional examples, particularly in your area of science or engineering.

Learn More About Partnering with Science Buddies for Your Research Grants:

For more information, including pricing details, about how Science Buddies can help fulfill your academic outreach needs or augment your next NSF research grant proposal, please contact us at outreach@sciencebuddies.org.

Additional information about Science Buddies' mission and the science education resources we provide, free of charge to the public, can be found in our About Us section, and by browsing the contents of our website, www.sciencebuddies.org.