Community Outreach

Community Outreach

HRVIP lab members gather with some visitors to the UC Davis Airport Open House.
HRVIP lab members gather with some visitors to the UC Davis Airport Open House.

Paying it forward is an integral part of our culture at HRVIP. As members of the UC Davis community, we strive to share our enthusiasm for aerospace with the public through a number of events throughout the year. Some annual activities include:

  • Picnic Day - UC Davis
  • Airport Open House - University Airport, Davis
  • STEM/MESA Transfer Day - UC Davis

Maybe we'll see you at the next one! You can look for our next outreach event on our calendar.

SOAR

The SOAR class of 2018-2019 gathers at the Aerospace Museum of California.
The SOAR class of 2018-2019 gathers at the Aerospace Museum of California.

HRVIP is also home to an elementary school outreach program called STEM Outreach Academic Reinforcement, or SOAR, that aligns with the UC Davis College of Engineering's vision of "advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) literacy through a range of K-12 outreach programs." SOAR is a partnership with the Aerospace Museum of California (AMC) and the Community Outreach Academy (COA) that connects graduate and undergraduate student mentors from UC Davis with local 5th grade classes at COA. SOAR is particularly interested to work with 5th grade students, as the 5th grade can be a critical year to prepare students to enter higher level STEM courses and maintain motivation and self-efficacy in young women.

 

SOAR volunteer Josh Day helps a group of students with a science project in a COA classroom.
SOAR volunteers Josh Day and Kaden Jeppesen help a group of students with a science project in a COA classroom.

It is SOAR's mission to encourage these students to envision themselves succeeding at university and in STEM-related careers. To this end, our volunteer mentors share their passion for science and engineering with the 5th grade students over the course of an academic year by engaging in STEM-related activities and building relationships. Events occur roughly once a month and usually take place either in the classroom or at AMC, although as of spring 2020 we have shifted to entirely virtual events in accordance with COVID-19 precautions.