The Little Shop of Physics (LSOP), a hands-on science outreach program of Colorado State University’s (CSU) physics department, had an unusual beginning: It resulted from director Brian Jones’ unsuccessful presentation of college physics to a group of eighth graders in 1991.

Jones, a CSU physics instructor and instructional laboratory coordinator, was urged to present his lecture to the middle schoolers by one of his students, who enjoyed it and thought they would, too. Although his talk “was not very well received” by the eighth graders, Jones noticed some of them lingered afterward to use the equipment he had brought: “They liked trying things themselves.” He vowed to return with “more things for kids to do themselves.”

For the next visit, Jones enlisted the help of his CSU students. “We built stuff we could take on the road,” hands-on experiments to help younger students explore physics, he says. He also asked some of his students to assist during the presentation. This school visit was a hit. Word of its success spread to other schools in the area, including elementary and high schools, and teachers began to request it. Those visits to a few schools each year grew into LSOP.

Jones emphasizes he did not have a vision for developing LSOP: The program “kind of grew organically” based on teachers’ requests and needs. At first LSOP was “very low-budget,” he recalls. Instead of paying his undergraduate student volunteers, he arranged for them to earn credit for their efforts. “It was a fun way to do it because my students were partners through the whole thing,” he observes.

Once LSOP was established, Jones says it became easier to obtain funding from small grants and donations, including donations of “time and equipment.” The staff acquired a wardrobe of multicolored tie-dyed t-shirts, for example, when a teacher offered to dye white T-shirts for them. Jones says CSU student volunteers enjoy wearing them, and “it makes us very easy to spot” by teachers and students seeking help with an activity. “An adult in a tie-dyed shirt is less intimidating” to young students, and the bright colors help convey the sheer fun of LSOP events, he adds.

As the program grew, Jones was able to acquire funding from corporate sponsors and CSU. Favorable testimonials from teachers, he adds, helped convince funders of LSOP’s value. Some educators liked LSOP so much that they joined its staff—including Sheila Ferguson, who spent more than 20 years in the classroom before becoming LSOP’s Teacher in Residence.

LSOP is now funded as an education and outreach project of CSU’s Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes, a National Science Foundation (NSF) science and technology center. The NSF grant pays for “a 15-passenger van…stuffed with 100+ experiments that we take to schools ranging from local high schools to elementary schools on native American reservations, from urban Denver middle schools to rural schools on the eastern plains,” according to the LSOP website.

Teacher, Community Resource

From the beginning, Jones says, teachers wanted to learn how to use LSOP’s equipment and do the demonstrations. They also requested more science content information. This led to the development of LSOP’s teacher workshops, which take place year round. Each year, LSOP develops new lessons and shares them with more than 300 teachers in Colorado, neighboring states, and sometimes in other countries. One popular workshop, for example, is Ten Things You Should Know About the Atmosphere.

One teacher’s suggestion led to annual LSOP open houses, says Jones. CSU’s on-campus Physics Bowl involved competition among high school student teams, and when losing teams were eliminated, LSOP staff eased their disappointment by entertaining them with physics demonstrations. Noting students’ enthusiasm for the demos, a teacher asked if LSOP would hold a larger event that would allow not just schools, but also members of the community to experience them. These free open houses draw more than 5,000 people each year.

Another teacher’s request brought LSOP to cable television. “We had just visited our 100,000th kid,” explains Jones, and had performed a special program in the Poudre School District (PSD) of Fort Collins, Colorado. PSD teachers asked Jones to appear with PSD students on a program airing on the district’s Channel 10.

When they arrived at the studio, Jones was astounded to learn he was expected to serve as the show’s host. His performance impressed the station’s staff, who asked Jones to host a program for teachers based on LSOP. Everyday Science illustrates science content and helps teachers do the experiments in their classrooms, says Jones. Episodes also air on Rocky Mountain PBS stations.

Those unable to attend an LSOP event or watch Everyday Science can visit the LSOP website for classroom-tested activities and video segments from Everyday Science. All activities use readily available and inexpensive materials, notes Jones.