The central aim of this project was to develop a middle school science outreach program to introduce students ages 12-14 to cutting edge science and research. As a woman with an advanced degree, I would like to study gender bias and increase interest in science education for females by assessing interest using online surveys. Our group hypothesis is that female interest in science decreases during puberty due to academic bias, cultural bias, and peer pressure. This project will impact students, the community, and our understanding of what interests and motivates students to academic success in math and science fields.<br/>We introduced modern chemistry and materials science to improve availability, interest, and achievement in math and science for students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds at the middle school level. Surveys will be administered to determine the initial level of interest with follow-up questions after a series of outreach laboratory experiments in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Four activities have been designed to fabricate and test DSSCs using inexpensive materials with seventh grade students. My research group has been using natural fruit dyes as inexpensive materials for cost-effective fabrication and testing of dye-sensitized solar cells. Cells made from fruit sources like cherries with carbon soot counter electrode convert up to 0.3% of indoor light to electrical power at a cost of about $6 per cell.<br/>Our future goals include the implementation of Vernier technology to graphically analyze results, measure light intensity, and introduce other forms of alternative energy such as wind from the KidWind Project.

Effects of introducing dye sensitized solar cells for renewable energy research to middle school students

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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