Physics Outreach

PhysicsQuest

Each year the APS Outreach Department runs the PhysicsQuest program that sends out free kits containing all the equipment needed for students to do fun physics experiments. Over the past six years these kits have been used by over two million students in middle school classrooms across the country.

The Comic Book Series

As part of the PhysicsQuest program, APS Outreach began writing a series of comic books, one featuring Nikola Tesla and others following the adventures of Spectra, a young teen with the powers of a laser. APS highlighted the comics at Comic Con, the world's largest science fiction and comic book convention held in San Diego with over 125,000 attendees. Over 25,000 comics per year have been put in the hands of people interested in learning about physics.

NASA and the American Physical Society have partnered to share unique videos with students, educators, and science fans from around the world. NASA astronaut Don Pettit spent his off-duty time aboard the International Space Station demonstrating the laws of physics in a weightless environment. His experiments can be seen in fourteen "Science off the Sphere" episodes available exclusively on PhysicsCentral.com! The episodes have been viewed over 3 million times and are currently being assembled onto a DVD.

APS Outreach supports a website for the general public, physicscentral.com. The site contains content for all ages, from "K to grey." Features include profiles of physicists, information on current and exciting research, experiments to do at home and a section where readers can "Ask a Physicist" their own questions. It also hosts the award-winning Physics Buzz blog. The website has more than doubled in hits annually for the past several years.
About the APS Outreach Program