How to Apply to Volunteer for Science in Action!
See the link in the blue box below. Applications for SIA! open the first the day of each semester and are open for two weeks. After the application period closes, applicants are selected and notified whether they were able to receive a placement in the program for the semester. Program dates of operation can be found in the application.What Is The Volunteer Commitment to SIA!
The Science in Action! Program is a semester long commitment. You are placed in a group with 3-4 other GU students. During a typical semester we aim for 20 total hours of volunteering spread out over 8-9 weeks. We will have orientation training sessions and be making 7-8 visits to our paired classroom this semester. At present, we are expecting to be in person again this year.
Criteria for Volunteering
- Be a currently enrolled full time undergraduate at Gonzaga University
- We accept ANY major (that’s right you can be undecided, Psychology, Nursing, Engineering, Sociology, Biology…anything!)
- Must have proof of vaccination for Covid-19 and a valid form of government ID (such as a Driver’s License or Passport)
- Attend one Weekly Workshop on Tuesday at either 12-1pm or 6-7pm
What do SIA! Volunteers Do?
The Science in Action! Program aims to create enthusiasm and confidence in science for elementary students. SIA! volunteers visit elementary school classrooms as a group, bring supplies provided by the program, and lead fun, inquiry-based and hands-on science activities. Our lessons are about 50-60 minutes long in the classroom. We have a weekly workshop at the beginning of each week where you practice the activity and plan with your group and then you visit the classroom later in the week. The day of your classroom visit (a Wed, Thurs, or Fri) volunteers meet 10-15 minutes prior to the lesson and gather the supplies and travel to a nearby school, facilitate the lesson and activities, and then travel 5-10 minutes back to campus. Elementary students LOVE seeing their SIA! Leaders and love getting to do hands-on activities.
Examples of Classroom Activities
Classroom activities are fun, easy experiments that emphasize asking a question and then doing an activity or experiment and make observations or collect data to answer it. You do not need to have a science background to facilitate these activities. You get a lesson plan, work with a group, and we practice the activity in our weekly workshop, so you go into the classroom prepared. Examples of activities your group might do:
• Balloon & Stomp Rockets
• Aluminum Foil Boats
• Build a Model Beaver Dam
• Testing Solar Panels
• Skittle Experiments
• And lots of other fun, hands-on activities!
