On December 11, 2024, nearly 100 5th grade students from Rainier Prep Middle School visited the University of Washington.
The whole group took a tour of the University, finding out more about what a university campus looks likes, the kind of different departments and environments on campus, and learning more about what they might do in the future. This included a stop for an interactive session with IMOD to learn more about the quantum sciences and optoelectronics. This event was in partnership with the University of Washington MESA organization.
The stop at the Chemistry building gave the 5th-graders the chance to do some hands-on science activities that IMOD grad students have developed, including learning more about the nature of light, and thinking about how to build a quantum dot, albeit with candy. It also gave the middle-schoolers a great opportunity to interact with IMOD graduate students, ask they questions, and learn more about the graduate research experience.
IMOD representatives from the Ginger and Hsu groups did a great job guiding the students from Rainier Prep through some core quantum concepts.