VISO*

Volunteers in Science Outreach

VISO offers people in the community a chance to experience science as probing the unknown through their own explorations and experiments. VISO connects people eager to share their skills and talents in science with learners eager to explore more and build their talents in inquiry, ingenuity and innovation.

Goals

  • Recruit, Train, Organize, Evaluate, and Recognize mentors interested in sharing science with learners in the community.

  • Partner with community groups to give learners the chance to experience science as exploring the unknown

  • Provide consistent, reliable opportunities for mentors/volunteers to hone their skills and practice their talents by providing venues and support that connect mentors to learners in the community.

  • Connect learners of all ages to the science resources of the university.

  • Build the capacity of the university to meet its goal of "Amplifying the Wisconsin Idea" by better organizing the talents of students, post-docs, researchers, faculty, retirees and alumni who are committed to 'Sharing Science with Wisconsin' with learners of all ages in communities across the state.

 visogroup

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Summary

Our prototype program is a joint project with the Boys and Girls Club and the Madison Public Library system, the College of Letters and Science, and the Wisconsin Campus Compact of Americorps*VISTA. We recruit, train and connect undergraduate students seeking service-learner experience to young learners at Boys and Girls Club and the South Madison branch of the Madison Public Library. As we build our capacity to recruit, train, schedule and recongnize volunteers, we will welcome more community partners and we will seek to expand our range of topics to include the full spectrum of sciences at UW-Madison.

Contact:

Brian Hagen Americorps*VISTA member
* from Latin, "to examine closely, look at, or see in order to find out".