by Kiesha Lamb ’12

In recent years, the Department of Physics at Bethel University has had a growing reputation for excellence. An increasing number of physics graduates have been accepted to prestigious graduate programs across the country, and the program is considered one of 21 “thriving” physics departments in the United States (out of 780).* But the faculty in the department are teaching more than excellent academics; they are passing on to Bethel students a legacy of service and instilling a passion for science in younger generations. The department is doing several outreach programs intended to expose youth in the Twin Cities area to the sciences.

“People forget how fun and exciting science can be!” says Professor of Physics and Department Chair Brian Beecken. He says the community outreach programs focus on allowing younger audiences to experience the essence of science. Professor of Physics Keith Stein, who teaches the physics course designed for elementary education majors at Bethel, agrees that an appreciation of the sciences is essential to young people’s growth and understanding of life’s basic functions: “Our purpose for community outreach,” says Stein, “is to captivate their imagination and inspire young people to become scientists and engineers.”

In several ways, the physics department encourages early interest in science. For example, Bethel University has a program called Bethel Buddies, a mentoring program for elementary-age students from the Union Gospel Mission camp who come to Bethel once a week. Twice each year, the physics department presents science to them in a fun and exciting way. Another example is the gifted and talented students from the Lighthouse program, based in Spring Lake Park, who come to Bethel for physics demonstrations. Other area groups come to Bethel for tours and demonstrations, and Bethel physics students and faculty go out into the community to teach and interact with youth as well.

In the physics class taken by Bethel’s elementary education majors, students have hands-on, practical experience in their field, teaching the sciences to children. “I have never been comfortable teaching or even grasping the concept of science, but then Professor Stein and Jack Netland made physics a whole new experience for me,” says Bethel junior Sarah Miller. “Then when we got the opportunity to actually demonstrate in front of real elementary aged kids, I was all for it. What sealed the deal for me and for my major was seeing how excited and willing to learn the kids were. Bethel is truly blessed to have such wonderful teachers who really strive to shape teachers of the future!”

“The kids had so much energy that I was able to feed off of,” explains Bethel sophomore Colleen Kopp, who performed physics demonstrations for the Bethel Buddies. “Their excitement helped me get excited about what I had to teach them. It was good to get out of the classroom and work with kids like I plan to do in the future.”

Bethel faculty and students normally do five to 10 presentations a year, and some years do 15-20 high school presentations throughout the state with support from St. Paul schools, from the McKnight Foundation, and from three Blandin Foundation grants for rural Minnesota. During 2008-2009 there have been at least 15 departmental public presentations to visiting students, Bethel families, Bethel students, area churches, local school districts, and other international locations. Here are just a few examples:

• In 2008, all five faculty members in the physics department put on a full demonstration show to about 1,000 visitors in Bethel’s Great Hall.
• On Sept 30, 2009, Professor of Physics Richard Peterson presented “Sound and Light together” for the Hiawatha Leadership Academy (K-2 New Charter School in South Minneapolis).
• “Resonance Rocks: Sound and Light Together” was presented in 2008
  at Wayzata Jr. High for their “Young Scientists Roundtable.” This was the
  third such auditorium presentation by Bethel for this organization and was
  video recorded for cable presentations in Wayzata.
• In April 2008 and March 2009, “Fun with Physics” was presented for the Bethel Buddies
  program by the Natural Science class with Stein and Netland.
• Brian Beecken presented in March 2009 for 40 first graders of the DaVinci Academy, a charter school in Ham Lake. He did hands on experiments from the physical sciences and let the students see and touch a large collection of fossils.

The physics department’s outreach has even extended internationally. Peterson presented talks on teaching with classroom and public physics demonstrations in Riga, Latvia, and also at Seoul National University in Korea during 2008. During the summer of 2009, Peterson is going to Daystar University in Kenya to teach a college-level class in physics designed for non-scientists.

Reflecting on the outreach programs, physics faculty members agree their love for physics and people will continue to motivate them as they work with Bethel students as well as the community.

*Physics Today, Sept. 2003