Delivering Inspiration and Impact
Updated October 2013
Ever hear a 5th-grader breathlessly describe an experiment demonstrating the Bernoulli effect? Has your child ever built a spectroscope using a CD, scotch tape and cardboard?
Little Shop of Physics was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from Halliburton to further expand the university's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math outreach to Native American reservations.The new grant helps the program expand its scope, provide additional teacher workshops and kits, and visit areas -- like the Wind River Reservation -- that were previously outside its reach. [more about the grant]
If so, chances are he or she had a close encounter with the Little Shop of Physics, the colorful, interactive traveling science program directed by Colorado State University physics instructor Brian Jones. The immensely popular program finds creative ways to share the wonders of science with thousands of children each year using unique hands-on science experiments.
Jones founded the Little Shop of Physics in 1991 with the goal of demonstrating that science is exciting, interesting and accessible to all. The Little Shop crew is composed mostly of undergraduate students who find creative ways to share the wonders of science and present unique hands-on experiments to a diverse range of K-12 students.
Visiting about 40 schools each year, the crew present its unique program of interactive hands-on science experiments to nearly 20,000 K-12 students annually. To date, Little Shop of Physics has reached more than 275,000 students through in-class experiments throughout Colorado, the U.S. and abroad in countries such as Korea, and more than 250,000 students online.
"We started Little Shop on a lark and thought it would last a year or two," said Jones. "Now we're at the point where we've interacted with more than quarter of a million kids. We've had half a million hands on our experiments."
Each year, the American Association of Physics Teachers honors one science educator from a national field. Last year, they honored Jones with the Robert A. Millikan Medal, which recognizes educators who have made notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics.
"Brian Jones is a leader in the world of physics educators. He has touched students, teachers and education leaders locally, regionally and around the world with equal grace and enthusiasm," said Christine Nichols, a teacher in Douglas County School District, in her nomination letter for Jones. "He has contributed to the visibility, credibility and overall understanding of physics in ways most of us teachers have never been able to accomplish."
In addition to school programs, the Little Shop of Physics presents teacher workshops, hosts an annual open house and produces the television show, "Everyday Science," in cooperation with the Poudre School Direct in Fort Collins, CO.
Search CSU Web Sites using Google's University Search. Use this for fast and relevant results to both general and specific queries, or search the A-Z list categorized like the Yellow Pages, click any letter for the units, programs, and services beginning with that letter. If you don't know the name of the office or program, you can also search this list by entering a keyword or two.