Subscribe to Spirit Magazine

THINK YOU'RE NOT A SCIENCE PERSON?
THINK AGAIN.

Ready for some fun? The College of Arts and Sciences’ community outreach programs deliver with engaging presentations, experiments and—yes—a few explosions.
By Jeannie Ralston

Until 2016, everyone in his family had attended The University of Texas. But Justin Kim ’20 ’22, who thought he’d pursue architecture in Austin, decided to break the pattern based mainly on one experience. On an AP Physics field trip with his Killeen, Texas, high school, he attended Texas A&M University’s Physics and Engineering Festival, where he watched experiments and listened to a Nobel laureate speak. 

“Every experiment I witnessed showed me something new and inspired me to see that physics and engineering are in fact very fascinating,” said Kim, who received an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and a master’s in structural engineering. “I realized that a university with an event like this that inspires young generations to pursue STEM fields could provide a superior education.”

Stories like Kim’s—where a passion for a subject or for Texas A&M was ignited at a community outreach event—are one of the main reasons that departments in the College of Arts and Sciences host dozens of annual programs that bring school-age children and their families to College Station. Some of the more recognized events, including the Physics & Engineering Festival, Chemistry Road Show and Chemistry Open House, Mathematics and Statistics Fair, and Shipwreck Weekend, have grown considerably over the years and continue to headline the college’s outreach emphasis.

“Showing science in a way that engages a younger brain is quite magical.”

— Dr. Mark Zoran, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

There are other benefits that are less obvious but equally important. Not only do these programs raise Texas A&M’s profile with potential students, but they also draw faculty as well. “People want to see that their career will have impact,” added Zoran, “so these outreach programs are very attractive to faculty we’re trying to recruit to campus.”

Another plus is the impact on Texas A&M students who work on the programs’ demonstrations and activities. “The best way to understand something is to explain it,” said Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova, the Marsha L. ’69 and Ralph F. Schilling ’68 Chair for Physics Outreach and a YouTube sensation for her physics videos. “By explaining concepts behind hands-on demonstrations to the general public, our students improve their communication skills. Instead of only going to class, they teach people and share their knowledge and passion for physics or science. This experience is priceless.”

Ultimately, however, the outreach programs are so important because of how they dovetail with Texas A&M’s service imperative and its land-grant mission of benefiting the public good. “A rule of thumb for me is that everything our faculty does—whether it’s their research, teaching or outreach—has to have at its core some element of societal impact,” Zoran said. “Nothing more vividly impacts society than outreach.”

MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS FAIR

DATE: February 22, 2025
THIS IS FOR YOU IF:
You’re looking for math to be fun, interactive and full of puzzles and games, arts and crafts, magic and mystery, and statistics and problem solving. And also, if you like pizza.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
Sudoku-level fun…on steroids. That’s one way to think of the Mathematics and Statistics Fair, which helps explain why it’s so engaging. 

“We want to show that mathematics is fabulously interesting and that it’s fun to learn things that seem complicated,” said Dr. Peter Kuchment, distinguished professor and founder of the fair with his wife, Dr. Mila Mogilevsky, instructional assistant professor emerita. “The main requirement for the job of director: You should love what you’re doing.”

The fair’s current directors are Dr. John Weeks ’22 and Dr. Sinjini Sengupta, instructional associate professors who are as equally enthusiastic about math as the fair’s founding couple. Nearly 100 organizers and charismatic volunteers show up on a Saturday to host new games and puzzles that will captivate those who attend no matter their age or skill level (and that includes parents). 

“We’ll have a range of problems, puzzles and games that work for students who are just entering kindergarten, all the way to things that would stump seniors in high school,” Weeks said. “We want to show them something that is interesting and accessible yet involves concepts that are beyond what they might get inside the classroom.” 

At each fair, there is a public lecture and four different types of activities: arts and crafts, problem solving, puzzles and games, and statistics. “Our arts and crafts section is excellent for younger kids because it has, for instance, origami that we use to teach them math concepts,” Sengupta reported. Balloon tying is also especially popular with younger kids, who get some geometry instruction without realizing it. “We may have them craft something called a tetrahedron, and we can talk about angles,” Weeks added.

For older students, there are games such as Hex Bridges, where two players try to connect hexagon shapes across the board and block their opponent. Some games, such as the checkers variant called Pop Tac Toe, allow players to adapt different rules depending on skill level. 

The fair also has a competition element. Each activity successfully completed earns a certain number of raffle tickets. Harder problems and games earn more tickets. The more activities an attendee does, the better chance of winning prizes drawn at the end of the event, which may include books and calculators. “Something they can take home and say with pride, ‘Mom, I won this,’” Weeks said. 

Former students who have gone on to great achievements point to the impact of the fair in their lives. “Teenagers have many hobbies and passions, including math and science, but if there is no community to support a passion, it typically dies. Math outreach at Texas A&M keeps the fire burning,” said Cosmas Kravaris ’22, who was inspired by the fair as a high school student in College Station. He went on to receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and is now working on his Ph.D. at Princeton University. 

“I used to feel that math was kind of ‘finished,’ but Texas A&M’s math outreach programs exposed me to the idea that people are discovering new mathematics every day,” said Parth Sarin ’16, who has been involved with the fair as a participant, volunteer and instructor. “The programs helped me situate myself in the history of the field and realize that I—just as much as anyone—could actually be a professional mathematician.” Sarin is now a Fellow at Stanford University. 

Even if attendees don’t go on to become mathematicians or STEM majors, Weeks and Sengupta see great value since grasping math concepts is helpful in everyday life. “It’s a very low-stress environment. We say, ‘Hey, think about it.’ Then someone is there to walk them through the concepts,” Sengupta explained. “It’s not like you’re sitting in a room full of people and the teacher says, ‘Who knows the answer to this one?’”

The organizers hope that by showing young people they can solve these puzzles and problems, they’re helping them realize that math “isn’t this big monster in the room,” Weeks said. 

The fair, as he sees it, is a big thank-you note to Bryan-College Station, although it’s open to anyone near or far. “It’s an opportunity to give back to the local community because of how much they’ve supported our university and what we do here,” he said. “It’s a way for us to show the next generation all the exciting things we’ve done with mathematics.”

FUNDING NEEDS

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

The mathematics department has a discretionary fund used to support math outreach efforts, among which the Mathematics and Statistics Fair is one of the largest. A dedicated endowment could expand the budget to help organizers grow their offerings and make math fun for more students.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT:

GIVE $50

GIVE $100

CHOOSE AMOUNT

SHIPWRECK WEEKEND

DATE: April 5, 2025
THIS IS FOR YOU IF:
You like history, ships, hidden treasure or all things nautical- or maritime-related.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
The topic of Shipwreck Weekend may seem narrow, but it in fact has implications that are as old as humanity and has been fascinating people for just as long. Hosted by the Nautical Archaeology Program in the Department of Anthropology, the event shines a light on ships and the people who have sailed them.

“Every single culture in human history that had access to the sea sailed on it. It is a core part of who we all are,” noted Ethan Mock ’24, a Ph.D. student who helped re-launch the event in 2023 after a three-year COVID-related hiatus. “We find ships fascinating—their construction, their cargo and how people interacted with them.”

Texas A&M has been at the forefront of raising the profile of nautical archaeology. Its program won wide attention for its role in the excavation of the Uluburun, a 3,000-year-old ship that sank off the Turkish coast carrying copper and tin ingots, pottery, ivory and jewelry. At the Texas A&M research lab, archaeologists with the program also conserved the 17th-century La Belle ship that is now on display in the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. 

For Dean Zoran, the nautical archaeology program was his first introduction to Texas A&M. “It’s special to me because long before I knew anything about Texas A&M, its military background or its football team, I knew it conducted this wonderful nautical archeology research,” he said.

Shipwreck Weekend, which is entirely student run, is an effort to share the program’s achievements and knowledge with the wider public, not just—as Mock said—“ship nerds.” During the event, visitors hear guest lecturers talk about their area of expertise and see labs where research and restoration take place. In the Old World Lab, models of classical Greco-Roman ships as well as actual artifacts are displayed. The New World Lab highlights modern vessels and technological developments.

You’re also pretty much guaranteed to find someone at the event dressed in pirate regalia. For the past two years, it’s been Mock. “I’ve got the boots, the tricorn hat, the jacket, the whole nine yards,” he reported. “We understand what seafaring means to the public. The first thing that pops into most peoples’ heads is ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ so we lean into that a bit.” 

Activities include knot tying, learning sea shanties, and a photo booth with pirate and scuba gear. At the 2025 event, which will be coordinated by Marissa Agerton ’25 and Kristen Clanton ’22, attendees will also have the chance to restore replicas of a glass stein actually found in a shipwreck. “They’ll be able to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle,” explained Agerton.  

The biggest kick for the student organizers is seeing visitors “get” the significance and reach of their field. Or to find a kindred spirit—as Mock did at last year’s event. “I met a middle school student last year who knew the names of ship parts I had just learned. I’m glad we reached him, because he knew this field, and he was excitedly talking with graduate students about the work they’re doing and contributing his own ideas,” Mock recalled, adding that he wouldn’t be surprised if the student ended up at Texas A&M. “He’s been accumulating knowledge entirely on his own, and that is so cool. We want to encourage that.”

FUNDING NEEDS

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

The event’s budget is provided by the anthropology department and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, but Agerton reported that the cost varies depending on the cost of flying in the guest lecturer. For its continued growth, Shipwreck Weekend would benefit from the reliable funding that an endowment would provide, enabling organizers to focus fully on the event instead of fundraising every year.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT:

GIVE $50

GIVE $100

CHOOSE AMOUNT

PHYSICS & ENGINEERING FESTIVAL

DATE: April 5, 2025
THIS IS FOR YOU IF:
You’re up for a science circus, bubbles, explosions, lasers and over 200 hands-on demonstrations.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
“I would watch this hundreds of times and still never get bored.”
“This is an awesome teacher.”
“Bill Nye the Science Guy has some serious competition.”

These comments—only a few of thousands—on the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s Instagram account are a glimpse at the gushing reactions to the work of Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova, an instructional professor in the department. Erukhimova is the headliner in social media videos that demonstrate physics principles in an upbeat, entertaining way, shooting her to internet stardom (3.2 million YouTube subscribers and counting), plus appearances on news programs such as CBS Mornings. In these short clips, she’ll hammer a knife into a potato to demonstrate inertia or use a hairdryer and a roll of toilet paper to illustrate Bernoulli’s principle of lift. 

Her hope is that her work will light a fire with viewers—especially young people. “We have to start early because children are scientists just by nature,” she said. 

Seeing her work her physics magic in real life is one reason that more than 7,000 visitors flock to the Physics and Engineering Festival every spring. The entire physics department—faculty, students and staff—gets in on the action. Throughout the day, festival participants are encouraged to unleash their inner scientists aboard a square-wheeled bicycle, run through a pool of cornstarch, and try their hands at generating electricity or shooting balloons with lasers—four of the more than 200 fun experiments and displays illustrating basic scientific and engineering technology-related concepts and principles. Each year, a student group called DEEP (Discover, Explore and Enjoy Physics and Engineering) works for months developing new activities and demonstrations for the festival. 

The event usually ends with Erukhimova and colleagues creating an explosion in five trash cans filled with water and plastic balls. When liquid nitrogen is added and warms up, it expands. “Then there is a huge fountain of water coming out of the barrels with all these plastic balls,” she reported with glee. “And thousands of people are just cheering and enjoying physics.” 

Erukhimova makes a point of welcoming everyone to the fun. “You don’t need to be a musician to go to a music festival,” she observed, “so why would you need to be a scientist to celebrate science?”

The main purpose of all her outreach activities—she also does Physics Shows for students during the school year—is to “break this stereotype that physics is hard and inaccessible,” she said. “It helps people learn they can have fun with physics.” The crowds who leave the festival or the shows, she said, “are all interested in physics, I promise you.”

Indeed, Zoran reported that the physics department saw its highest application rate and enrollment last year. “I think that’s a tribute to the physics outreach,” he said. “It engaged these young kids when they weren’t even in their teens yet, and that fascination created a spark in the brain.”

The Physics and Engineering Festival was started in 2003 by Dr. Ed Fry, distinguished professor and former head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The first festival featured Stephen Hawking as a guest speaker, setting the tone for top-tier learning and important speakers.

In 2007, Erukhimova took over physics outreach efforts, and her social media fame came later, after her demonstrations started to be recorded and posted online. Today, even though she’s received hundreds of millions of views, she doesn’t see herself as a celebrity, but “an ambassador for physics.”

And she’s helped create many other ambassadors. “This festival truly inspires people to pursue science,” said Megan Novak ’24, who chose Texas A&M after attending the festival in high school. Later, Novak went on to work at the festival. “When I was presenting Schlieren optics, a little girl and her mom were watching, and the little girl told me that she wanted to be an engineer just like me when she grew up. It’s so touching.”

FUNDING NEEDS

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Erukhimova's work and the festival itself are supported by generous endowments given by Marsha '69 and Dr. Ralph Schilling '68. The festival kick-off lecture is endowed by Nancy and Robert L. Dunham '63, while cash support has also been provided by Halliburton the last five years. But Erukhimova and colleagues could always use more funding to expand the department's outreach programs. Future plans include a live, online streaming of the festival to a worldwide audience and high-impact training programs for high school physics and science teachers.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT:

GIVE $50

GIVE $100

CHOOSE AMOUNT

CHEMISTRY ROAD SHOW & OPEN HOUSE

ROAD SHOW: Year Round
OPEN HOUSE: October 2025
THIS IS FOR YOU IF:
You like things that react, fizz and explode and want to know why they do.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
Two larger-than-life personalities for the Department of Chemistry’s outreach efforts, including an oversized mole character and a man with a red beard and a tie-dyed lab coat, who are guaranteed to make chemistry fun.

The mole costume, which takes center stage at the annual Chemistry Open House on campus, typically is worn by Dr. Daniel Collins, instructional associate professor and co-director of outreach for the department. For those not familiar with chemistry terminology, the mole represents the standard scientific unit for measuring large quantities of small entities such as atoms and molecules.

The bearded man, who travels to schools across the state in a special Chemistry Road Show van and also appears at home base during the Open House, is Dr. James Pennington, instructional associate professor and coordinator of the Road Show. For those not familiar with science showmanship, Pennington represents the fun and fascination of chemical reactions. 

The Chemistry Road Show was launched by legendary professor Dr. John Hogg in 1987. Pennington took over for Hogg when he passed away, and for 16 years, he’s been creating instant snow, everlasting ice cream, fire tornadoes and elephant toothpaste—and inspiring lots of oohs and ahhs—in Texas classrooms lucky enough to snag him for an appearance. Once his schedule opens for the school year, his datebook fills up quickly. “He could have most of his calendar booked up in 24 hours,” reported Collins. “It feels almost like trying to get tickets to a rock concert.” 

Seventy-three times in 2023, Pennington and a few assistants packed up their mobile lab with dry ice, liquid nitrogen, potassium chlorate and other substances to entertain some 13,000 students—with the average age range being fifth through eighth graders. He drove 11,000 miles, with his farthest destination being Alpine in West Texas. Pennington prefers to go to schools that don’t have much funding for science programs, noting that wealthier schools already have robust initiatives. He especially wants to reach students who might not get excited about science otherwise. 

“The Road Show makes that connection between Texas A&M and the tax dollars people pay,” said Pennington, explaining that schools don’t pay for his appearances. “They see that they’re supporting a program that is reaching their kids, helping them get interested in science and creating a future for them.”

Once a year, with the help of student, staff and faculty volunteers, the chemistry department brings that Road Show energy and excitement to campus during the Chemistry Open House, which features 34 events and drew 1,500 people last year. Pennington does a smaller version of the Road Show three times during the Open House, and you can bet there’s a controlled explosion or two to keep things extra exciting. 

“Our core value at Texas A&M is selfless service,” said Dr. Soon Mi Lim ’06, instructional associate professor and co-director of outreach in the Department of Chemistry. “Our students get to experience that every time we do the Open House.” 

Margaret Riebe ’26, who volunteers with the Chemistry Road Show, is inspired by the students’ reactions. “Seeing the kids go crazy for something I find exciting truly makes me so happy,” she said. “I love making the kids laugh and brightening their day with the funny and crazy experiments we do for them!”

Added Pennington: “It helps remind all of us why we got into science in the beginning.”

FUNDING NEEDS

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

The cost of keeping the Road Show rolling is roughly $25,000 per year. Some of that funding comes from the Department of Chemistry, while corporate partners Shell and Dow Chemical Company have also provided support. External funding is important because schools don’t pay for Pennington’s appearances, and he wants to keep it this way. In addition, the van, now 11 years old with 150,000 miles and counting, needs to be replaced. The Chemistry Open House costs between $10,000 and $15,000; more endowed funding would help the department expand outreach and fund speakers for the event.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT:

GIVE $50

GIVE $100

CHOOSE AMOUNT

AND THE SHOW GOES ON

Beyond the big shows, there’s still a lot of outreach going on in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to these community engagement events, programs in three other categories are effective and important for teachers and educators, K-12 students and women in science. 

These programs take a variety of forms, including one that brings teachers to campus for 14 days of inspiration and new curriculum development, science competitions for kids, and conferences specifically for women and girls in STEM fields. Many departments also make it a priority to bring learning into school classrooms or host school-age kids on campus for field trips. 

“There are a lot of different types of scholarship and discovery within the college. Our outreach programs showcase our faculty and our facilities as a place you might want to come to down the road,” Zoran said. “Plus, they help change thoughts about what science means and why the humanities are important. And even bigger, what higher education is and what it can accomplish.”

VIEW A FULL LIST OF PROGRAM OFFERINGS IN THE COLLEGE

OUTREACH PROGRAMS
SUPPORT THE JOY OF LEARNING

Discuss an endowment for one of the four programs featured here or the college's outreach efforts at large by contacting Karen Cochran at the bottom of this page. You can also give online to the college's general outreach fund by clicking the button below.

SUPPORT OUTREACH
Tagged with:
Previous Story
Contact

  • Karen Cochran

  • Senior Director of Development
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Call: 979.845.6474

Make Your Impact

Give Now