The Science Kitchen is working to bring STEM education to pre-K through high school students and teachers across the state of Wyoming. This program is a partnership between the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium. Along with their school outreach, they also provide lab space for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Wyoming. “What we’ve done in the past was we’ve travelled to schools to do activities, we’ve done virtual visits, and we’ve partnered with the (UW) Planetarium,” says Megan Schnorenberg Candelaria, Associate Director of the Wyoming NASA Space Grant and Director of the Science Kitchen. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have had to switch gears and have started offering take home kits as an alternative to in person activities. 

For the coming months, The Science Kitchen is hoping to offer approximately one kit per month. “For December, we are going to do an electricity and light kit,” explains Candelaria. The kit will include components that allow students to build a penny battery that lights an LED bulb. They are also working to partner with other organizations on campus such as the Geology Museum to enhance future science kits. 

Dependent on current restrictions on campus and in Laramie due to the pandemic, the Science Kitchen is also offering campus visits on a limited basis. These visits are typically for school groups of any age and include hands-on activities and visits to different campus resources such as the Geology Museum, the Williams Conservatory, and the Henry C. Vaughn Planetarium. 

For more information about the Science Kitchen, and to sign up for upcoming take home kits, you can visit their website: http://wyomingspacegrant.org/sciencekitchen/. You can also keep up with their current offerings on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UWScienceKitchen.