Interactive youth science workshops benefit student participants and graduate student mentors

Science communication and outreach are essential for training the next generation of scientists and raising public awareness for science. Providing effective science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational outreach to students in classrooms is challenging because of the need to form partnerships with teachers, the time commitment required for the presenting scientist, and the limited class time allotted for presentations. In our Present Your Ph.D. Thesis to a 12-Year Old outreach project, our novel solution to this problem is hosting a youth science workshop (YSW) on our university campus. The YSW is an interpersonal science communication and outreach experience in which graduate students from diverse scientific disciplines introduce middle and high school students to their cutting-edge research and mentor them to develop a white-board presentation to communicate the research to the workshop audience. Our assessment of the YSW indicated that participating young students expressed significantly more positive attitudes toward science and increased motivation to work in a STEM career after attending the workshop. Qualitative follow-up interviews with participating graduate students’ show that even with minimal time commitment, an impactful science communication training experience can be achieved. The YSW is a low-cost, high-reward educational outreach event amenable to all disciplines of science. It enhances interest and support of basic science research while providing opportunities for graduate students to engage with the public, improve their science communication skills, and enhance public understanding of science. This YSW model can be easily implemented at other higher education institutions to globally enhance science outreach initiatives.科学传播与科普推广（Science Communication and Outreach）对于培育下一代科研人才、提升公众科学素养至关重要。面向在校学生开展高质量的科学、技术、工程与数学（STEM）教育科普推广工作颇具挑战：一方面需要与授课教师建立合作关系，另一方面主讲科学家需投入大量时间成本，且课堂上可用于科普展示的时长十分有限。在我们发起的"将你的博士论文讲给12岁孩子听"（Present Your Ph.D. Thesis to a 12-Year Old）科普项目中，针对上述痛点提出的创新解决方案是在大学校园内举办青年科学工作坊（Youth Science Workshop，简称YSW）。该工作坊是一种人际互动式的科学传播与科普推广实践活动：来自不同学科领域的研究生会向初高中学生介绍自身的前沿研究，并指导学生制作白板展示文稿，以便向现场观众讲解研究内容。我们对该工作坊的评估结果显示，参与活动的青少年在课后对科学的态度明显更为积极，且投身STEM领域职业的意愿显著提升。对参与活动的研究生开展的定性追踪访谈表明，即便仅需投入极少的时间成本，参与者也能获得极具成效的科学传播训练体验。该青年科学工作坊是一项低成本高回报的科普推广活动，适用于所有科学学科。它既能提升公众对基础科学研究的兴趣与支持度，又能为研究生提供与公众互动、提升自身科学传播能力、增进公众科学理解的机会。该工作坊模式可轻松推广至其他高等院校，从而在全球范围内助力科学推广事业的发展。