Start a High School Physics Club: Tips and Advice for Student-Led Clubs

[Jeff Z]

I am getting ready to start my sophomore year in High School. I am very interested in Physics but cannot take the class until next year. I have had Honors Bio as a freshman and am taking Honors Chem this year. I have also had Johns Hopkins CTY courses in Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics over the last two summers.

The clubs at my school are started by students. I would like any advice you may have about starting a High School Physics Club.

Thanks

 

[Choppy]

- hold an inaugural meeting and formalize some positions (president, treasurer etc.) so that time you put into the club can help you with future applications
- contact local univerisities and see if any graduate students would be interested in coming to give talks on the research they do (sometimes a pizza lunch bribe helps in this regard)
- select a teacher mentor, preferably one who has an interest in physics and is perhaps a member of a high school physics teachers society
- some universities have high school outreach programs that you may want to look into
- some universities have projects that recruit high schools to assist with research (I know for a while, my alma matter had a cosmic ray detection array set up on various school roofs in the city)

 

[thrill3rnit3]

In addition to those listed above, you and other members can do tutoring, which also looks nice on college apps.

 

[Jeff Z]

Thanks this is just what I was looking for. I did not think of the university options. The University of New Hampshire is about 15 minutes from my school, do you know anything about their physics program.

I would still like any other advice.