The beauty of outreach


When the proposal was funded, I 

offered to help set up and supervise 

the activities—simple experiments 

that explored basic concepts such 

as light and energy using balloons, 

plastic bottles, batteries, and other 

everyday materials. With no experi-

ence in this kind of environment, I 

didn’t know quite what to expect. As 

I worked with the children, I was in-

terested to discover that they gained 

as much from their interactions as 

from the content of the activities. 

Their excitement grew as they devel-

oped a community by collaborating 

or, more often, engaging in friendly 

competition. I found that I greatly 

enjoyed facilitating this kind of fun 

and socializing through physics. 

After hearing about my work on 

these edutainment activities, the 

director of the physics department 

asked me to coordinate our departmental outreach pro-

gram’s main project, which aims to enrich physics education 

for students in their final years of high school. I was grate-

ful for this opportunity, which allowed me to make outreach 

part of my professional life. I have also found, unexpectedly, 

that it has been even more important on a personal level. It 

has helped me find a new level of community and connec-

tion with students, which has reignited my own excitement 

about physics and my appreciation of the relationships that 

can emerge from sharing in the scientific inquiry process. 

Working with the graduate students involved in the proj-

ect has shown me how collaboration can create a vibrant, 

creative community, which simultaneously makes the work 

more fun and leads to a better final result. When I started 

on the project, graduate students in the department merely 

helped conduct established educational activities, but soon, 

on their own initiative, many of them started to propose 

new activities related to their research. In turn, we started 

to work more as a team. Now, our 

meetings feature lively discussions 

about the status of the outreach 

project and possible directions for 

future development. Everyone con-

tributes, leading to warm, meaning-

ful personal interactions. Seeing the 

students thrive in this environment 

has made me realize that our out-

reach program serves not merely to 

explain scientific concepts, but also 

to share the idea that participating 

in science is a positive, enriching 

personal experience. 

A few months ago, when the new 

director of the department asked 

me to take on the responsibility 

for the entire program, I accepted

enthusiastically, effectively choos-

ing outreach as my primary activity. 

I still plan to continue my research, 

because these activities are comple-

mentary and I like the way they complete my work life, but 

I know that doing both outreach and research will be a chal-

lenge. Nonetheless, I’m confident that it will be worthwhile, 

and I look forward to continuing to develop our outreach 

program. I want to engage the high school students as well 

as educate them so that they can experience the joy of shar-

ing their scientific enthusiasm in a communal environment. 

It all started for fun, but in just a couple years, my work 

life has completely changed. Now, when school students ask 

for advice about pursuing a career in science, I tell them 

that the beauty of science is engagement and collaboration 

with a diverse group of individuals. Thanks to outreach, I 

rediscovered this beauty. ■

Pierfrancesco Riccardi is a researcher at the University 

of Calabria in Italy. He thanks the students and postdocs

involved in the Progetto Lauree Scientifiche. Send your

career story to SciCareerEditor@aaas.org.

“It has helped me find 
a new level of community 

and connection.”

The beauty of outreach

A
fter about 20 years as an academic researcher in experimental condensed matter physics, I got 

involved in outreach quite by chance. It happened a couple years ago, when some friends were 

writing a proposal for their company to run “edutainment” activities for the children in our town. 

Teaching at the university level had been an important part of my job for years, but I had never 

been involved in anything like what they were proposing. Nonetheless, it sounded like fun, so I 

suggested a partnership between their company and my university’s physics department. This is how I 

discovered the joy of outreach, which has ended up taking my career in an unexpected direction. 

By Pierfrancesco Riccardi

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6 74     4 NOVEMBER 2016 • VOL 354 ISSUE 6312

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The beauty of outreach
Pierfrancesco Riccardi

DOI: 10.1126/science.354.6312.674
 (6312), 674.354Science 

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