Educational Outreach

What is Educational Outreach?

One of the key pillars of ISS, the Educational Outreach team provides the K-12 community with hands-on and accessible opportunities for space education, aiming to inspire the next generation to reach for the stars. 

There are two main facets to Educational Outreach: the events we host and the resources we provide. Our events include Classroom & Library visits, Engineering Open House (EOH), Illinois Space Day (ISD), and Science Communication Competitions. We also provide presentation and activity resources for educators to use. We fundamentally believe that education should be accessible to everyone, and so all of our materials and events are entirely free to the public. If you would like to donate to our cause, please contact us at iss.educational.outreach@gmail.com for more information. At the end of the day, the Educational Outreach team is a group of college students who believe that education is one of the most powerful tools someone can have. If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place!

How do I become a part of Educational Outreach?

At the end of the day, the Educational Outreach team is a group of college students who believe that education is one of the most powerful tools someone can have. If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place! We are always more than happy to welcome new members.

If you’re a UIUC student and would like to join, it’s as easy as reaching out to Matt Pactol via email (mpactol2@illinois.edu)! You can also email iss.educational.outreach@gmail.com for more information. As the school year starts up in August and September, keep your eyes peeled for details about Educational Outreach Info Sessions! As the time gets closer, you can find the information on this website as well as on the Slack workspace. Additionally, be on the lookout for opportunities to volunteer during our events!

If you’re a community member or just someone interested in participating in our events or donating, please reach out to iss.educational.outreach@gmail.com! Whether it would be to schedule a visit, talk about the opportunities we offer, or anything in between, we would love to connect with you!

All in all, if in doubt, please reach out! We try our best to be as accessible as possible, and regularly check all emails and slack workspaces. Please don’t hesitate to contact us and say hello!

Educational Outreach Board

The Educational Outreach Board leads the ISS Educational Outreach team, and anyone is welcome to apply to join! The Educational Outreach Board positions are the following:

• Educational Outreach Director: manages Educational Outreach Board and oversees all Board activities, serves as liaison between Board and remainder of ISS

• Content Creator(s): creates educational content to present at various events

• Event & Logistics Lead(s): reaches out to community and sets up framework for events, helps with volunteer organization

• Publicity Lead(s): takes charge of advertising events, designing posters and fliers, sending out monthly newsletters

• Science Communication Lead(s): manages the Science Communication Board, leads the Science Fiction Writing and Drawing Competition - see the tab on Science Communication (SciComm) for more information

• Senior Advisor(s): Assists with overall logistics and execution of Educational Outreach Board goals, provides guidance to remainder of Board

Applications for the Educational Outreach Board will open towards the beginning of the Fall semester, and interviews will take place immediately after. No experience whatsoever is necessary to apply! More specific information will be presented at an info session in the Fall and then posted here. Details on the info session itself will also be posted here as we begin the semester!

The Educational Outreach Director and Senior Advisors are picked in the spring semester prior to the upcoming school year. For 2023-24, they are currently:

• EdOut Director - Matt Pactol

• Senior Advisors - Komol Patel and Shivani Atre