The Physics Department hosts a wide variety of outreach events each year, including the long-running Physics is Phun demonstration series, and Physics Discovery Days for elementary-aged students.For information on the programs, visit our outreach page.

To stay informed about upcoming outreach events, join our mailing list.

 Fall 2022 Physics Outreach  

The 2022 Physics Congress (PhysCon) is almost here! The Physics Congress is hosted by Sigma Pi Sigma, the honor society which connects hundreds of physics departments across the country. UMD will be one of the local hosts this year. Join the largest gathering of undergraduate physics students in the United States from October 6-8 in Washington, D.C.

The Maryland State STEM Festival will be here before you know it! The annual month-long event will be returning for its 8th year. This year’s theme is Cybersecurity and Information Technology. Our program will have exciting physics demonstrations and activities on nanotechnology and coding. Stop by on Saturday, November 5th. Check back for our registration form!

The Vortex Makerspace is back! During our open hours students have the opportunity to create, innovate, and learn. Join our hour-long workshops or stop by and get involved in a project during the day. Contact info and details HERE!

2021 State STEM Festival!

Click HERE to check out our Physics in Sports videos on our Youtube Channel!

2020 State STEM Festival! 

UMD Physics Outreach has joined the Fest again this year with a fun virtual/hands-on workshop: Build and test your own Vortex Generator!  For information and registration details check out our flyer found here: STEM 2020!

Today's at Home Activity: 

Did You Know...

• Did you know the State STEM Festival is having an art contest this summer?  K-12 students are welcome to submit artwork with this year's theme: Manufacturing and Design.  For more information, please visit HERE.
  
  
• Did you know that the first woman to ever perform a spacewalk just became the first woman to reach the deepest point in the ocean?!  Click HERE to learn more about the amazing Kathryn D. Sullivan!
  
  
• Did you know we are bringing The Amazing Science Discovery Camp to you?!  Check out camp activities HERE.  The summer camp team will truly miss seeing our one-of-a-kind camp community this summer! 
  
  

• Did you know we are bringing The Physics of Quidditch Summer Camp to you?!  Check out camp activities HERE.  The summer camp team will truly miss seeing our one-of-a-kind camp community this summer! 

• l (Eliot Hammer, Coordinator of Public Engagement) met Paul Jaffe, who works in the Spacecraft Engineering Department at the United States Naval Research Laboratory at our February Physics of Fantastic Worlds show.  I was thrilled to learn that Dr. Jaffe and his family enjoyed the show.  I was intrigued when he showed me the prototype of a demonstration he had been developing: the LEctenna.  The phenomenon that this demo displays is fascinating.  I am excited to announce that Dr. Jaffe and his colleagues have officially released the demo!  Click HERE to learn more about the demo, HERE to learn how to build it yourself, and HERE to see Astronaut Jessica Meir present and share the LEctenna from space!” Thank you, Dr. Jaffe, I look forward to seeing you and your family at a future show!

• Did you know that the Physics Demonstration Facility in the UMD Department of Physics has over 1500 demonstrations! Our Racing Balls demonstration is a favorite!  You can see this demonstration and accept the challenge to predict what will happen when the balls reach the end of the track by clicking here!

Contact:
Eliot Hammer, Coordinator of Public Engagment