Outreach and Community Engagement

Outreach and community engagement are essential components of the mission of the UCF Department of Physics. We believe that science has the power to inspire curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and open pathways to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By engaging students, educators, families, and the broader community, we seek not only to promote scientific literacy but also to demonstrate the excitement and societal relevance of scientific discovery.

Since August 2023, Dr. Mihai E. Vaida has served as Outreach Coordinator for the UCF Department of Physics, leading the development and organization of outreach programs that bring hands-on physics experiences to audiences across Central Florida. Through partnerships with local schools, the Orlando Science Center, the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society, the UCF Department of Physics, CREOL, and UCF outreach programs, we provide opportunities for students to experience science beyond the classroom.

A central component of our outreach efforts is the development of new demonstration experiments and hands-on activities that communicate scientific concepts in an engaging and accessible way. In recent years, we have designed and implemented demonstrations focused on optics and photonics, lasers, electricity and magnetism, renewable energy, energy conversion and storage, spectroscopy, and modern physics. These demonstrations are regularly featured at STEM festivals, public science events, school visits, and community outreach programs.

Our outreach activities range from large public science exhibitions and STEM festivals to laboratory tours, career exploration programs, teacher training workshops, classroom visits, and science demonstrations. Through these activities, students have opportunities to interact directly with scientists, explore research laboratories, participate in hands-on learning experiences, and discover educational and career opportunities in STEM fields.

Since August 2023, we have organized or participated in nearly 20 major outreach events, reaching more than 5,500 students, teachers, parents, and community members across Central Florida. These efforts have involved hundreds of volunteers, including faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students, K-12 teachers, and community partners. Today, we organize approximately 8-10 outreach events annually, making physics accessible to audiences ranging from elementary school students to lifelong learners.

Outreach at a Glance (August 2023 – Present)

• 20 major outreach events organized or coordinated
• More than 5,500 students, teachers, parents, and community members reached
• 8-10 outreach events organized annually
• Hundreds of UCF faculty, student, teacher, and community volunteers involved
• Programs hosted at UCF, Orlando Science Center, local schools, and community STEM festivals
• New outreach demonstrations developed in optics, photonics, lasers, electromagnetism, renewable energy, and energy conversion and storage

Featured Outreach Programs

Physics Exploration Career Day

Physics Exploration Career Day is one of the flagship outreach events organized by the UCF Department of Physics. Middle and high school students, teachers, and parents are invited to campus to learn about educational and career opportunities in physics through faculty presentations, laboratory tours, hands-on demonstrations, and interactions with researchers and current students. Attendance has grown substantially in recent years, reaching record participation levels that exceed pre-pandemic attendance. The event provides students with a unique opportunity to experience university research firsthand and explore the many career paths available in STEM fields.

STEM Day at UCF

STEM Day is one of the UCF Department of Physics’ flagship outreach programs and is held twice annually, during the Fall and Spring semesters. The program introduces elementary, middle, and high school students to science through hands-on experiments, interactive demonstrations, and inquiry-based learning.

Elementary school students participate in Physics is Fun, a long-standing outreach program developed within the Department of Physics. For middle and high school students, our group has developed a collection of new outreach activities, including Optics, Waves, and Wonders: How Electromagnetic Waves Shape Our Daily Lives, together with demonstrations on optics, photonics, lasers, renewable energy, and energy conversion and storage.

By combining hands-on experimentation with scientific inquiry, STEM Day helps students discover the excitement of science while exploring how physics influences the world around them. Over the years, it has become one of the department’s largest and most successful outreach events.

STEM Day (April 5, 2024): Student volunteers who supported STEM Day outreach activities.STEM Day (April 5, 2024): Participants engaging in hands-on demonstrations during the Energy Conversion and Storage outreach session.STEM Day at UCF (October 24, 2025): Participants engaging in hands-on demonstrations during the Physics is Fun outreach session

Orlando Science Center Outreach Programs

The Orlando Science Center is one of our most important community outreach partners and serves as a premier venue for engaging the public in science through interactive exhibits and hands-on learning experiences. Through annual events such as Spark STEM Fest, National Chemistry Week, Picture Perfect Chemistry, Electromagnetic Waves and Optics, Energy Conversion and Storage, and The Healing Power of Chemistry, we engage hundreds of children, parents, and educators each year through interactive demonstrations and science exhibits.

Many of the activities featured at these events originated from the broader impacts and educational components of Dr. Mihai E. Vaida’s NSF CAREER award. Through this program, K-12 teachers collaborate with undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty researchers during the summer to develop low-cost demonstrations, hands-on activities, and classroom lesson plans that can be readily implemented in K-12 science classrooms. The resulting educational materials are subsequently incorporated into outreach programs at UCF, the Orlando Science Center, and schools throughout Central Florida.

These collaborative efforts have produced a diverse portfolio of outreach activities focused on optics and photonics, lasers, spectroscopy, electricity and magnetism, renewable energy, energy conversion and storage, and other areas of modern physics. Additional demonstrations and educational materials have been developed in collaboration with the Orlando Section of the American Chemical Society, further strengthening connections among the university, professional scientific societies, K-12 educators, and the local community.

Together, these programs have reached thousands of visitors across Central Florida, providing engaging opportunities for participants to experience science firsthand, explore the principles underlying modern technologies, and develop an appreciation for scientific discovery and STEM careers.

The Healing Power of Chemistry (October 21, 2023, Orlando Science Center): Demonstrations illustrating the scientific principles underlying medical diagnostics, therapeutic technologies, and everyday healthcare applications.

Electromagnetic Waves and Optics

Introduced in 2024, this large-scale public outreach program allows participants to explore how electromagnetic waves influence everyday life. Visitors investigate the properties of visible light, microwaves, ultraviolet radiation, lasers, optical fibers, and imaging devices through a series of hands-on demonstrations. The program incorporates newly developed demonstrations on diffraction, interference, polarization, refraction, image formation, optical fibers, spectroscopy, and microwave technologies. The inaugural event attracted more than 400 visitors and involved more than 30 volunteers from UCF Physics and CREOL.

STEM Nights and School Outreach

Each year, faculty and students from the UCF Department of Physics participate in STEM Nights and outreach programs hosted by local schools throughout Central Florida. These events provide opportunities for middle and high school students to engage directly with scientists through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and discussions about STEM careers. Through recurring and one-time outreach activities at schools such as Jackson Heights Middle School, Hagerty High School, Tuskawilla Middle School, Lockhart Middle School, Colonial High School, Rockledge High School, and Lake Nona High School, we bring physics directly into local communities and classrooms.

Energy Conversion and Storage is a signature outreach program developed to demonstrate how energy can be transformed, stored, and utilized in modern technologies. Through interactive experiments on solar energy, electrochemistry, batteries, hydrogen generation, electrolysis, and renewable energy systems, participants learn about the scientific principles underlying sustainable energy technologies. The program has been presented at UCF, the Orlando Science Center, K-12 workshops, teacher training programs, community science festivals, and special outreach events, reaching audiences ranging from elementary school students to educators and the general public.

Outreach Activities (2016-Present)

2026

1. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, April 3, 2026. Physics is Fun and Optics, Waves, and Wonders programs.
2. Spark STEM Fest, Orlando Science Center, October 24, 2026.
3. Energy Conversion and Storage, Orlando Science Center, November 1, 2026.

2025

1. Jackson Heights STEAM Night, Jackson Heights Middle School, Oviedo, November 19, 2025.
2. National Chemistry Week: The Hidden Life of Spices, Orlando Science Center, October 25, 2025.
3. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, October 24, 2025.
4. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, April 4, 2025.
5. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, February 22, 2025.
6. Spark STEM Fest, Orlando Science Center, February 15, 2025.
7. Outreach and recruitment visit, Hagerty High School, Oviedo, February 13, 2025.

2024

1. STEM Night, Jackson Heights Middle School, November 13, 2024.
2. Electromagnetic Waves and Optics, Orlando Science Center, November 9, 2024.
3. Picture Perfect Chemistry, Orlando Science Center, November 2, 2024.
4. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, November 1, 2024.
5. Visit of a High School Class from Australia, University of Central Florida, October 3, 2024.
6. Camp Connect II, University of Central Florida, July 12, 2024.
7. Central Florida Earth Day: Geta a Charge Out of Chemistry, Lake Eola, Orlando, April 20, 2024.
8. Energy Conversion and Storage Exhibit, Orlando Science Center, April 13, 2024.
9. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, April 5, 2024.

2023

1. STEM Night, Jackson Heights Middle School, Oviedo, November 15, 2023.
2. The Healing Power of Chemistry, Orlando Science Center, October 21, 2023.
3. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, October 20, 2023.
4. UCF Introduction to Research & Creative Scholarship (I.N.T.R.O.) Mentoring Program, April 19, 2023.
5. Spring iSTEM Day, University of Central Florida, March 31, 2023.
6. Spark STEM Fest, Orlando Science Center, February 18-19, 2023.
7. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, February 25, 2023.

2022

1. Supervised visiting high-school students from Eijkhagen Charlemagne College (Netherlands),University of Central Florida,October 14-28, 2022.
2. National Chemistry Week: Fabulous Fibers –The Chemistry of Fabrics, Orlando Science Center, October 22, 2022.
3. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, October 21, 2022.
4. PREM Advanced Materials Summer Workshop: Energy Conversion and Storage and Electrolysis of Water Demonstration, July26, 2022.
5. Teacher Professional Development Program on Energy Conversion and Storage, July-August 2022.
6. CodeOrlando Outreach Event, University of Central Florida, June 14, 2022.
7. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, April 1, 2022.

2021

1. Sunlight to Fuel Demonstration, National Chemistry Week, Orlando Science Center, October 23, 2021.
2. Lemon Battery and Vinegar Battery Demonstrations, National Chemistry Week, Orlando Science Center, October 23, 2021.
3. Physics Week: Energy Conversion and Storage Demonstrations, April 23, 2021.

2020

1. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, November 7, 2020.

2019

1. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, October 5, 2019.
2. Physics and Everyday Thinking, Florida Prison Education Project, August 2019.
3. iSTEM Day, University of Central Florida, March 29, 2019.

2018

1. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, October 13, 2018.
2. Physics Summer Institute – Water Program, University of Central Florida, July 23-27, 2018.
3. Space Game Outreach Activities, UCF Spectrum Stadium, November 1, 2018.
4. Careers in Vacuum Science Panel, FL-AVS 2018, May 8, 2018.
5. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, March 29, 2018.
6. Tuskawilla Middle School Outreach Program, March 27, 2018.

2017

1. Faculty Family Fun Day: Physics Demonstrations at Cryogenic Temperatures, November 12, 2017.
2. STEM Day, University of Central Florida, October 27, 2017.
3. Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, October 21, 2017.
4. Physics Summer Institute – Water Program, July 24-28, 2017.
5. Construction of a Nitrogen Laser for Outreach Activities, May-June 2017.
6. Electricity and Magnetism Demonstration Lecture, Rockledge High School, April 28, 2017.
7. Hands-on Physics, Lockhart Middle School, April 17, 2017.
8. iSTEM Day, University of Central Florida, March 31, 2017.
9. Physics Demonstration Experiments, Colonial High School, February 24, 2017.
10. Student Appreciation Day: Faraday Cage Demonstration, February 17, 2017.

2016

STEM Night, Lake Nona High School, Orlando, November 10, 2016.

STEM Day, University of Central Florida, October 28, 2016.

Physics Exploration Career Day, University of Central Florida, October 22, 2016.