In many K-12 schools, especially in rural areas, it is both financially and practically infeasible to provide students with interactive science experiments. This means that students in these schools are solely learning from textbooks with no supplemental hands-on material. Saint Francis University’s Rural Outreach Chemistry for Kids (SFU’s R.O.C.K.) program aims to bring these unaffordable hands-on learning experiences into local schools. Located in Loretto, Pennsylvania, R.O.C.K. serves schools located in multiple Pennsylvania counties focusing in mainly on Blair and Cambria counties. R.O.C.K. is staffed by undergraduate students who have an interest in sharing their love for science with the younger generation and funded through grants from societies such as the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP). In the 2021-2022 school year, the program’s 26<sup>th</sup> year of existence and its first year back in-person after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, R.O.C.K. was able to serve over 2,500 members of the local community through 54 classroom, library, and other community events. Through these activities, the students receive science-based experiences they otherwise would have gone without, and the members of the R.O.C.K. team gain communication and presentation skills that are vital in moving onto their next steps after their undergraduate career. This program serves the local K-12 community while also benefitting the undergraduate students who keep it running.

Saint Francis University’s R.O.C.K. program: Bringing hands-on science into local schools

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.