Establishing Purpose and Goals

The basic goals of presenting an open house are many and can include:

To show physicists in action
To bring physics (and science in general) concepts and demos to populations who otherwise would not have exposure to these
To excite people about physics
To encourage people to become more interested in physics
To stimulate support for your department, university, you, and physics in general in the form of financial gifts, legislative support
To create a media “buzz” around physics and you and your department specifically (see Public Relations)
To recruit students to study physics

Presenting an Open House may coincide with another University event, for example a campus-wide “Take Your Child To Work” Day or Homecoming. If the University is having such an event, this is a great time to do an Open House and take advantage of the momentum and publicity of the larger event.