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What types of activities will I be involved in as a volunteer?
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Can I receive volunteer or community service hours for participating?
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SciTrek is a science outreach program based at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). SciTrek aims to promote science and technology education among K-12 students by using in-class modules to teach the fundamentals of a given NGSS scientific concept through hands-on and inquiry-based discovery. The program often involves UCSB students and faculty members who volunteer their time and expertise to engage with local schools, inspiring an interest in science and technology. |
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2. Who can participate in SciTrek? The primary audience for SciTrek programs is K-12 students. UCSB undergraduate students can serve as volunteers or mentors to K-12 students. These university students gain valuable teaching and outreach experience. |
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3. How do I sign up to volunteer for SciTrek? Secondary Modules: Here is a link for volunteers to sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848A4AB2BAAFCC52-46997883-winter Elementary Modules: E-mail scitrekelementary@chem.ucsb.edu and include the teacher and school of the module that you would like to volunteer for. We prefer volunteers that can attend ALL days of the module as well as the orientation. If you cannot attend the orientation, an online version of the orientation is available (with exception of the 6th grade modules). If you must complete the online orientation please indicate this in your e-mail. |
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4. What are the time commitments for volunteers? A typical module runs for five to eight days, and depending on the grade or topic, can be scheduled for M-F, MWF or T/Th. The MWF and T/Th schedules run for two and four weeks respectively. Being reliable and available during these times is an important qualification. |
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5. Where and when are the orientation sessions held? Keep in mind you need to attend the mandatory orientation, you can check this link for Secondary SciTrek to check their time and location, or look at the top of the corresponding module schedule on the Elementary SciTrek page. |
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6. What types of activities will I be involved in as a volunteer? Volunteer activities include tasks such as attending mandatory orientations, instructing K-12 students in module-specific experiments using SciTrek's lead workbook, and packing boxes with essential materials for module preparation, etc. |
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7. Do I need any special qualifications to volunteer? All UCSB undergrad or grad students can join us as volunteers. |
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8. Is there a cost to participate in SciTrek? There is no cost to participate in SciTrek. |
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9. How can I stay updated on SciTrek events and news? Please visit our website to stay updated on SciTrek events and news. |
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10. What if I can't attend all the sessions/modules? If you are unable to attend all the sessions or modules as a volunteer, it's important to communicate this to the SciTrek coordinators as early as possible. They can often accommodate varying schedules and availability, and they may be able to adjust your volunteer assignments accordingly. |
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11. Can I receive volunteer or community service hours for participating? Chem 193 is a pass/no pass class that offers one unit for volunteering with the SciTrek program. Students will be awarded 1 unit for volunteering for two modules and completing 5 hours of behind the scenes work. The 5 hours behind the scenes must be completed before the end of dead week. To enroll in the class, e-mail scitrekelementary@chem.ucsb.edu for the elementary program and scitrekmanager@chem.ucsb.edu for the middle school program. Please include the classroom, teacher and class period for the module that you plan to volunteer for (dates and times are found on the scheduling pages). |
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12. Who can I contact if I have more questions? For additional information, you can contact SciTrek coordinators: Secondary Inquiries: Dr. Gulistan Tansik Email: scitreksecondary@chem.ucsb.edu Elementary Inquiries: Mr. Zack May |