Jenna Tempkin, 2023 APS Public Engagement Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: Lafayette College

Hi! My name is Jenna Tempkin, and I am a rising senior physics major at Lafayette College which is located in Easton, PA. I’m from Springfield, NJ and very excited to spend the summer working in and exploring Washington D.C as the APS Public Engagement intern. Within physics, I am extremely passionate and interested in physics education research and physics education/outreach, and am planning to do something in that field/area after I graduate. At Lafayette, I am an active member of both Lafayette’s Physics Club and Women+ in Physics Club, play flute in the college concert band, and am a captain of the Lafayette College Dance Team. I am super excited for this summer experience and to see what I can learn from this internship opportunity.

Internship

Host: American Physical Society

Project

Abstract

PhysicsQuest (PQ) is one of American Physical Society’s public engagement projects that aims to introduce middle school students to basic physics concepts through short activities and experiments. Recently, PQ has undergone updates to make physics more accessible and relatable as a career path, engage diverse students, focus on DEI pedagogical strategies, and incorporate principles from the STEP UP program. In order to ensure these changes are implemented, I created a set of guidelines that will be used by PQ developers and reviewers. These guidelines will help to ensure that the new goals of PQ are met in the future. Additionally, I have worked on adding extension activities, or “after the experiment” activities, to past and present PQ activities that teachers can use to further engage their students with physics concepts. These extension activities include making real world connections, presenting content in a creative way, and a design challenge, all of which have been shown to connect with diverse student populations.

Final Presentation

Internship Blog

Week 1: New Summer? New Program! Lots of Information...

It feels really weird to be writing one of these after reading so many within the past year, but I am so excited to share my journey here this summer.

It started off on Sunday when my family took a nice 4-hour car ride down to D.C. Luckily because I live in NJ, I was able to pack all my stuff up and not have to make any Target runs when I got here like some of the other interns did. I got all unpacked into my room and met my roommate Hannah. It was so nice to finally meet in person after texting for the last few weeks.

Monday was Memorial Day, but it was also really rainy so I did not do too much exploring. My family stayed overnight to avoid driving back home in bad traffic, so I spent most of the day with them. I have been to D.C many times before, but we did something I had never explored: Ford’s Theater. It was free and definitely a really interesting stop to learn about Lincoln and his assassination if you have not been there before. We took an uber back to the dorm and I said goodbye to my family for the next 9ish weeks.

That night was the first time I met all of the other interns for dinner at a restaurant called Tonic. It is definitely nerve-wracking meeting new people in a new place, but everyone was so nice, and it put me in a really good mood for the rest of the program. The restaurant also had really good mac and cheese (just saying...).

Tuesday was our first official day, which meant I woke up nice and early to catch the metro into ACP for our orientation. Fun fact is that I love the DC metro stations. I think they are much cooler than any other subway system station I have traveled on. Once in College Park I met some of the SPS staff, as well as other AIP members. We learned a bit more about what AIP is, program expectations, and even did a team bonding spaghetti tower competition (we almost won but then our tower fell during the extra two allotted minutes...shoutout to my group Devin and Brynn). After orientation me and the other two APS interns, Jaden and Devin, hopped on an IT meeting which was a bit crazy to say the least. After an hour of dealing with super slow internet, we hopped on another zoom call with our mentors. We got a brief introduction to everyone and what to expect for the summer. We also got a very warm welcome from the APS employees, which I really appreciated.

During the rest of the week I had some more meetings where I was introduced to my main mentor Nicole, other team members Allie and Claudia, and the projects I will be working on. More details to come in the following weeks, but I’ll be working on Physics Quest which focuses on creating lessons for middle school teachers that involve physics but also work to change the narrative of physics to be more inclusive, and APS’s Science Trust Project which focuses on combating misinformation in science. I spent this week learning the basics about these projects and how they work currently in order to orient myself before jumping into my tasks next week. I already had multiple check ins with my mentors, and I can tell these projects and the group fit my interests really well. I also learned of the opportunities I will have to talk to APS staff and ask questions about their career path in order to help solidify some of my future career goals. I am lucky to be a part of a great group this summer and am really looking forward to working with the Public Engagement Team.

Some other fun moments were the times the interns spent after work. My motto for this summer is try everything! On Tuesday a few of us went to watch the sunset behind Lincoln Memorial. On Wednesday we went and sat near the national mall. (Pro Tip: Do not spent 8 dollars on soft serve chocolate ice cream from an ice cream truck – not worth it.) On Thursday we all hang out at the dorms playing some board games and just talking about our day. We actually went around in a circle, and everyone gave a quick synopsis of what they did. The theme this week seemed to be IT issues, but I think they are all resolved now. It is so interesting to hear what everyone is doing since it is all so different and unique. On Saturday a few of us went to the Smithsonian Zoo! We saw some pandas, various small mammals, and a lot of elephants. It was a fun first weekend of exploring D.C and also catching up on some sleep...

Now that we have all met and started bonding it is clear that we are already quite close group of interns who are passionate about their work, but also enjoy relaxing and having fun. I can’t wait to explore more of D.C with them during this summer.

Week 2: New Ideas and lots of ballet

Hi everyone! I can’t believe it is already the end of week 2. I already know that this summer is going to move way too fast. Here is a recap of what I did this week!

Monday morning I hopped on a zoom call with my mentor Nicole, and Sierra, who is helping with redesigning the APS Physics Quest website. We went over what the new site will look like, and part of what I am working on: Physics Quest (PQ) Extensions. Like I mentioned last week, PQ is a program of lessons designed for middle school physics/science classes, and the Public Engagement Team is working on enhancing them to include more diverse practices, counternarratives, and topics. Part of my job is to help make extension activities, or what teachers can do with classes after they have completed the lab activity. For example, one way I am doing this is trying to add activities that allow students to make real world connects with the physics they are doing in their class. Later Monday afternoon I spent a few hours doing work in a coffee shop which was very nice and relaxing. Doing work in a place like that makes me feel like a real adult. Monday night I met up with a friend from college that I had not seen in over a year since she graduated. It was great to catch up. She was on my college dance team, so we spent a lot of time talking about that. When we walked out of the restaurant, I also ran into a friend from high school that I had not seen in over 4 years! How crazy!

Tuesday was another workday with a few meetings and some work on extensions. As I tried making these new activities for the various topics, I realized that it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I have to think about physics and these labs in creative ways to try and figure out an extension activity that is connected, but also builds on the principles they are trying to add. It is giving me a taste of curriculum building which if I end up going into teaching, is definitely a skill I will need. Also on Tuesday I attended a meeting with the Public Engagement Team where they shared some survey data about their programs to other APS employees. It was nice to meet a few more APS faces. That night I spent a while watching The Good Doctor (10/10 recommend if you like medical shows) and then called my friends Jessica and Sophia from school.

Wednesday was my first day back at ACP in College Park. I went in with a few of the other interns and when we got there the building was pretty quiet. I went down to the APS storage closet to look for comics that were once part of the Physics Quest program. There were over 20 boxes! Also on Wednesday was the APS Birthday Bash – a companywide meeting where they introduce new employees and announce people’s birthdays. Since I technically count as a new employee, I was introduced and said hello to the entire staff. It was definitely nerve-wracking but once again everyone was so welcoming. The other APS Interns and I spent the rest of the meeting laughing at how many birthdays there were, and the comments people were making in the chat. After taking the metro back home we hosted a game night in our room! We played Mario kart (which I learned that I cannot play on a Nintendo Switch) and Mario Party. I also made cookies with some cookie dough that I bought.

Thursday I went back into ACP for the Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon. It is way harder to edit than it looks. I had some more meetings focusing on another part of my work (which I will save for next week when I have more to talk about), and eventually took the metro home. I had impulsively bought a ticket to see the New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center the night before, so I went there for the evening. I sat really high up, but I really enjoyed the view since I was able to see the entire stage. I do live really close to NYC, but I never saw the ballet before, and as a dancer, I was really intrigued. My favorite piece was “Afternoon of a Faun.”

Friday I woke up and did laundry, and of course had a few more meetings. Besides working on my internship projects, I also met with my advisor from last summer since I will be attending the AAPT summer meeting in about a month to present that work. It was great to talk to her. Then, I went on yet another ballet journey. I found online that the Washington Ballet was doing a free performance at CityCenterDC (really fancy outdoor shopping plaza). I was able to convince Emily, Hannah, Tiffany, and Ruthie to join. Unlike the NYC Ballet, this performance was a bit more modern and contemporary, which I really enjoyed. We then came back and hung around for a few hours.

Saturday was definitely a highlight of my time in DC so far! I went with a few other interns to watch the DC Pride Parade. We got all dressed up and got a great spot right at the end of the parade route. I had never been to a pride parade before, and this one did not disappoint. We watched the parade for over 2.5 hours before eventually walking home before our legs gave out from standing. It was so crowded but luckily there was a lot to see. A highlight of that parade was seeing Kit Connor and Joe Locke from the Netflix show Heartstopper (I’m a huge fan)! It was so nice to see so many people be themselves and to experience the great vibes of that day. When we got back from that parade I was so exhausted and took a well-deserved nap.

On Sunday I traveled back to the Dupont Circle area to go to the farmers’ market with Hannah and Tiffany. I have been to a farmers’ markets before, but this one was about 5x larger. I got some super sweet strawberries, a chocolate chip cookie, and even a bagel to eat when we got back.

I’m slowly starting to put together a to do list of things I want to do here in the next 8ish weeks, and I am super excited to see what other activities I do this summer. Thanks for reading :) (P.S: make sure to check out the photo gallery below!)

Week 3: Giant Jenga

Week 3: Giant Jenga

Hello everyone! Happy end of week 3! Here is what I was up to this week:

Monday was a typical workday. I continued working on compiling materials for Physics Quest Extensions and went to my check in meeting with my mentor. Monday night, a group of us tried to have another game night with a Wii that was left by past cohorts, but failed due to a missing wire. Although no games were played it was still nice to see everyone at the end of a long day.

On Tuesday I had my first check in meeting with the whole APS Intern Crew (there are only three of us but I will remain calling us a crew). It was good to hear about the other APS projects that Devin and Jaden were working on, as well as share a bit more about what I was up to. This meeting was also with Jaden’s mentor Bri, and we had a lot of discussion about how cool it was to be a part of this program. I jokingly asked if APS would hire me after I graduated.... After that meeting I discovered a Starbucks gift card in my wallet with just enough money for a brownie. I took my brownie and went up to sit at the GW University Center terrace outside and continue working. At night, I went to dinner with my friend Gab. We know each other from our home dance studio where we danced together for 10 years, but due to our crazy schedules it had been almost three years since we last saw each other. It was so great to catch up and reminisce about dance together. We met at a really nice pizza/pasta restaurant called Ella’s Woodfire Kitchen (if you are reading this I 10/10 recommend. They even have swings you can sit at for your table).

Wednesday was probably the most jammed packed day this week. It started with a trip into ACP with a few interns at 7:30. When we got there, there was a few meetings going on, so the building was busier than usual. There was also more food than usual, so we got to steal some of the leftovers. I then worked at my desk and had a meeting with my mentor Nicole, and a physics teacher named Tamia for Physics Quest. I am working on creating a set of guidelines for future PQ developers, reviewers, and extension writers to help guarantee the activities and information included fits what teachers are looking for and fits certain DEI efforts. Tamia gave us a lot of really good ideas, such as having students explore physics through writing raps or making physics memes. These were such creative ways to engage with physics that I would not have thought of otherwise. She even showed us a few memes her students made, and I was cracking up.

Wednesday night myself, Hannah, Janessa, Julia, Eva, Brynn, and Devin took a trip to the Wharf in D.C for a free concert. It was pretty busy but we found a spot with some lawn chairs and of course, GIANT JENGA. Our first game was quite intense and went on for probably close to 10 minutes. It was really windy so the tower almost fell over a few times just with the wind alone. Then it was my turn again. The tower was the opposite of stable, and none of the bricks wanted to move. Using my physics brain, I channeled my inner Isaac Newton to use inertia to pull out the middle brick on the bottom. I pulled the brick and celebrated as the tower stayed up.... well not quite. Moments later my celebrations turned into me falling onto the floor in defeat. (See photo collage below). The concert ended and we made a pit stop at Shake Shack before heading home. Janessa and I demolished an order of fries and chicken bites.

On Thursday I woke up for a meeting with another teacher to get more information about guidelines for PQ. Unfortunately we had to reschedule that meeting, so I shifted into practicing my Science Trust Project Presentation that’s in a little less than 3 weeks. To practice, I decided it would be a good idea to record myself and practice like I was giving the talk to the audience. The practice went really well, except I accidentally left the recording running for a good 30 min. Watching the video of myself typing away and doing work was comical. Thursday night we had a dinner with the SPS Executive Board. It was my first true networking event, and it was definitely a bit overwhelming for me. I had to learn that going up and saying “hello” to someone, as easy as it seems, can actually be quite difficult. Though, after taking a few minutes to get comfortable I met some really interesting people who do really cool work for SPS. Then we came home, and a few of us went to captain cookie.

Friday morning I got to actually practice my Science Trust presentation to Allie, and Zack, who also works with APS for this project. I got really helpful feedback to take into consideration for when I practice over the next week. We also discussed how to edit the presentation to tailor it to the interns, since we are not the typical audience. Later that day, on my check in meeting with Nicole, I got to see her new dog. He was adorable! A lot of the interns were supposed to go to Jazz in the Garden this night, but sadly it was canceled due to the weather. Instead my roommate and I got chipotle and I watched a lot of The Good Doctor. More of us ended up hanging out later too, which was really fun.

On Saturday I met with my friend Emily from Lafayette! We got brunch where I had delicious pancakes and then went to an interactive museum all about language called Planet Word. My favorite part was this massive “word wall” where they played a short movie all about the origin of some words. Saturday night all of the interns attended the National Orchestral Institute’s performance. It was at UMD, so we had to take cars there. The lesson I learned that night was to take Uber, not lyft. Our uber driver on the way home was a way better driver and was way more personable than our lyft driver there... The big piece played was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue which I only really know from United Airlines safety videos, but it was gorgeous. I play the flute in Lafayette’s concert band so orchestra music is not new for me, but it was really cool to be on the audience side of this performance.

Finally on Sunday I went and got groceries, and then joined up with some interns at the Georgetown Flea Market. There was a lot of pretty artwork and jewelry on sale. I did not buy anything, but I really liked walking around (even though it was hot). Then we went to M street for lunch where I had a burger and a delicious chocolate milkshake.

That’s all for this week! Maybe I’ll win a game of giant jenga in the near future... (check out more photos below!)

Week 4: Making the Most of the Rain

Another week, another blog!! Unfortunately the weather was not in our favor this week. It was cold and rainy almost every day, but I think I made the most of it. Here is what I did in week 4!

All of the interns had off on Monday due to the Juneteenth holiday. Since we had some extra time on our hands, we had an Italian themed potluck dinner. I can’t cook super well, but I was able to mix together some ingredients for a Caesar salad that was gone by the end of the night. I do however still own an entire extra bag of Caesar salad croutons.

To start the actual work week off right I woke up to do my laundry on Tuesday, and then hopped on the APS intern check in meeting. Then I started to finalize the PhysicsQuest guidelines that I have been curating these last few weeks. My mentor and I met later to discuss them and some edits she had made. Throughout this day, and the rest of the week, I also put in a little bit of work on a presentation I will be giving at the AAPT summer meeting in around a month. Just wait a few more weeks for that adventure to Sacramento, CA! Tuesday night some of the interns went to Tonic for their jazz night, where Janessa and I split a brownie sundae. I will never pass up the opportunity to have one of those. Back at the dorms I met with Ruthie, Julia, Janessa, and MJ to watch some episodes of Heartstopper and bake cookies.

Wednesday was quiet and the main thing I did was go over some more details for the Science Trust Workshop that I’ll be giving in less than 2 weeks. Part of this workshop is an activity where participants can practice their reflective listening skills, so we spent some time making sure I knew how to facilitate that. After that Zack, one of the people working with me on this project, stayed on zoom to tell me about the other workshops that are part of the STP program. I really liked the second workshop which discusses how identity and cultural background change the context and meaning of conversations. I have really liked learning about this project and orienting it for the intern audience. I have made a lot of changes that I think make the presentation better for the interns, and I enjoy that the APS staff are really open to all of my comments and suggestions. That night our plans sort of got changed since the concert at the Wharf was canceled because of the weather. Instead, some of us went over to Crystal City to go bowling and play arcade games at Bowlero. I probably spent a little too much money, but it ended up being a great time. Although I never was able to get a strike...

On Thursday all of the interns went into ACP because we had our first lunch and learn with Nobel Prize winner John Mather. To be completely honest, I did not really know what he does because I am not into astronomy, but quickly I learned he was responsible for a few important telescope missions, including JWST. It was really interesting to hear about his journey, and it surprised me how incredibly humble he was. He is also from NJ so I felt connected to him for that reason. When someone asked how it felt to be someone of that status in the science world, he responded by saying that he just felt like a normal guy. Another thing he said that stuck with me was that everyone in science is always a beginner, because everything is always new and changing. That really resonated with me because taking on a new role, like this internship, is always new for the first few weeks, but then eventually you will be able to build your skill set and advance on. After finishing up lunch I stayed around ACP and did some work with other interns in the conference room. Later that evening we had a movie night and watched John Mather’s recommended movie, “Forbidden Planet.” I wasn’t paying great attention, but it was surely interesting. (Plus I can say I watched a Nobel prize winner’s favorite movie, and I think that is cool)

The weather was atrocious on Friday, so I spent a lot of it doing my work from the comfort of my bed. I was able to finish and send out the first draft of the PhysicsQuest guidelines for review! My mentor and I were really happy with the list we had created, and now we are waiting for some feedback from the teachers we had spoken to in previous weeks. I even learned how to do a mail merge in my email. At night it had finally cleared up, so a few of us did a nighttime walk through some monuments including Lincoln, Korean War, WW2, and the Einstein memorial.

We are nearing the end, but Saturday was actually the most jammed packed day of the week. It was the annual Astronomy on the Mall event, and Emily, the SOCK intern had been planning and training us for the event. It was an outreach event and SPS had three tables with physics demos, trivia, and a lot of SPS swag. My favorite demo to explain was diffraction because everyone loved getting to take the glasses home. People also really enjoyed the boomwhakers and learning about sound. Doing events like that is extremely rewarding, and it reminds me why I love to do physics! It was surprising to me how many kids and adults were intrigued. My favorite comment of the night was from someone probably a few years older than me and she said, “physics is so fun, I don’t know why I was always scared of it.” I think outreach events like that are super important for showing that physics is really fun and really cool...After wrapping up we went to check out the late-night hours of the Natural History Museum. Turns out this was a legit night at the museum event – there was a DJ, and LOTS of people. I actually randomly ran into my friend Maya from high school who I had not seen in almost 3 years because she moved out of NJ. It was crazy. We only stayed at the museum for around 15 minutes because we were exhausted and overwhelmed with the crowds. We ended up coming back to GW and hanging out for a few hours in Jaden and Devin’s room instead. All in all, a night well spent.

Now it is Sunday and I just got back from going to the farmers’ market and grocery store. Crazily enough next week marks the halfway point of the internship. This summer is going by way too fast, but I am so lucky and happy to be here.

Thanks for reading! Check out some photos below and see you next week :)

Week 5: We’re Halfway There

Hello! Welcome to week 5. This week was FILLED with many interesting activities and might even take the title for my favorite week so far.

On Monday there was some maintenance going on at GW, so Hannah and I did our work in the GW University Center for a few hours. If the weather is nice enough I recommend sitting on their third-floor patio! I had a meeting with Nicole where we set goals and tasks for the remainder of the summer in order to see which project I should focus on next. We are currently waiting for review of my main project, so it was definitely a lighter work week. At night we went to an event called Astronomy on Tap and met a few very interesting scientists from the area.

My Tuesday started off with a really nice conversation with APS staff member Sarah Monk. Besides being a summer intern I also happen to be an APS Student Ambassador, and Sarah runs the program. We had a really good and informal meeting about her career path, how she ended up at APS, and how she ended up in the position she is in now. She was also a past intern, so we spent some time talking about the program. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation because her path seemed to echo mine very closely, which gives me a lot of hope for my future physics endeavors. Also on Tuesday we had another APS Intern check in, this time with Devin’s mentor. We did an “emoji check in.” In the afternoon I continued some last-minute prep for the Science Trust Workshop and also worked on creating some categories for the extension activities I have been developing. This will make it easier for teachers to select activities and for the future developers to see what activities have and have not been included. On Tuesday night I went to the Marine Corps sunset parade. As in true D.C summer fashion it did start to pour, but luckily I was well prepared with my umbrella (see photo below). The main reason I wanted to go is because this parade featured the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps. I guess you can say I am a bit of a band nerd, so I really enjoyed this performance, even if I went hope a little damp...

My day started bright and early on Wednesday to head into ACP. This was also the day I learned they raised the metro fare from $4.40 to $4.85. Not cool Metro, not cool. In the office I was tasked with another mission to look for something in the building. Unfortunately I never found what I was looking for, but I was able to explore the upper floors of the building. You can see my APS selfie from the fourth floor below. Wednesday night was definitely the highlight of this week. I went Kayaking on the Potomac! I have been kayaking before but being able to do it with some of my new intern friends was a memory I will not forget. It is an event run through the Potomac Conservancy, which aims to help clean the Potomac and is $15 for two hours on the water. We explored the more scenic side of the river, but I think we are planning to go back in two weeks to explore the side that runs along the Georgetown waterfront. (Pictures below!)

On Thursday I had my last official Science Trust Project meeting with Allie, and Zack. We ran through some last-minute details. I’m really excited to see how it goes and to see how the intern enjoy it. We sent out a pre survey to gauge how much people already knew and will also be sending out a post survey to see how much they learned (hopefully). Check next week’s blog for a full report on that. Once again the D.C rain canceled our plans to go to the Wharf so a few interns ended up going to Circa for dinner and then hanging out at GW afterwards.

On Friday the APS interns had another lunch chat with the Public Engagement and Innovation team. I knew most of the PE team already, but this was also a great meeting because I got to hear a lot of interesting stories and learn about the pathways of the team. I appreciated this conversation, especially as someone who has an extreme interest in doing outreach type work in the future. *cough cough APS hire me cough cough* The big takeaway from this conversation is that everyone’s path is different, and there is not a “correct” path. Actually, the big piece of advice was to do some work before going to grad school, and of course always finding someone to pay for your grad school if you do end up going! Next up on Friday was a tour of the Capitol thanks to fellow intern Ruthie. I have been to the Capitol before, but we also got to go into the room of the committee Ruthie works for in a nearby House of Representatives office building. I learned that these buildings are open to the public to encourage people to knock on representative’s doors to talk to them. Though Ruthie also so kindly explained that its often the staff you’d be talking to first. After the tour I spent a little too much money at the cafeteria, but my chicken noodle soup and salad were excellent. Friday night was a whirlwind of events. First, I was planning to go to Jazz in the Garden because I had finally won tickets, but the weather did not work out in my favor. Instead I ended up meeting my school friend Emily to go to my second Marine Parade of the week at the Marine Barraks in Washington. This parade had performances from the Marine Band, Marine Drum and Bugel Corps, and the Silent Rifle Platoon. The Silent Drill Platoon and learning that there was a Marine Corps dog were definitely the highlights.

This weekend I began my D.C tourist adventures. I actually have a few days off of work due to July 4^th, so I figured this was the best time to do some exploring. On Saturday I took a trip to the Air and Space Museum with MJ, Tiffany, and Ruthie. Most of the museum is still under construction but the exhibits that were open were still very interesting. My favorite exhibit was the one all about landing on the Moon. Although I spent a lot of time resting after that, I ended up hanging out with more interns at night after Janessa texted me minutes before I was going to go to sleep. I had so much fun Saturday night, so shout out to Janessa. On Sunday I went to the National Building Museum with Ruthie, and we explored the exhibit with buildings made out of Legos, an exhibit about photography of architecture, and an exhibit about borders. The building itself is absolutely stunning as well, so we spent some time sitting in the interactive exhibit on the main floor.

It is really crazy to me that half of this internship is already passed. The more time I spend in this program working and having fun with the other interns, the harder and harder it will be to say goodbye. We’re not there quite yet though, so for now I am looking forward to 5 more weeks filled of adventures. Make sure to check out the photo gallery below!

Week 6: Tourist for the Week

Hello everyone! Welcome to week 6. I won’t lie, I am extremely exhausted today from this past week (in a good way-stay tuned) so apologies if anything sounds weird. It was a great week of lots of traveling and visiting friends. Let’s get right into it.

Since it was July 4^th on Tuesday, APS had an extended summer break. This meant I had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off to explore. On Monday, SPS brought all of the Interns to a Washington Nationals Baseball game. I have been to a few MLB games before, but never at this stadium. I really enjoy the vibe of baseball games and the experience of being at the stadium, but I did in fact get bored after the 5^th inning. Luckily to cure my boredom I indulged in a hot dog, and of course, Dip-n-Dots. I even got them in the souviner baseball helmet bowls. Even though the Nationals fell short by one run, we celebrated nonetheless with fireworks at the stadium.

Tuesday was July 4^th! It was so hot and humid out I did not journey outside until we left for the National Mall for the fireworks. Now, I knew it would be crowded because we are in the capitol, but these crowds were crazy. In order to secure our spot we got to the national mall around 6 pm. That is THREE HOURS in advance. When we got there, it was already starting to fill up. Once we settled in our spot in front of the Washington Monument, myself, a few of the interns, and my friend from Lafayette Emily who joined us that night, took about an hour-long trip to get McDonalds. I have never been so sweaty in my entire life, but the chocolate milkshake was worth it. At 9:09 sharp the fireworks began, and the entire crowd was cheering with excitement. I was never a massive fan of fireworks, but these were ones to remember. The fireworks went on for around 20 minutes and there was great music playing to accompany them. I’m talking Harry Styles, Beyonce, and of course, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. It was an unforgettable July 4th experience. Leaving the mall was a bit hectic because of the crowds, but once we got back to GW a few of us continued to hang out. It’s these little hangouts and time we spend together that I have loved about this summer! Also super quick shoutout to my Dad who celebrated his birthday on the 4th.

Since I didn’t have to work on Wednesday but most of the other interns did, I once again met up with my friend Emily to visit the Library of Congress. There was not much to do but look around, but the design and architecture of the building was absolutely stunning. I also learned that even though I had no recollection of ever visiting, I went there on one of my very first trips to D.C. That night Hannah and I hosted another game night. I played Super Smash Bros for the first time, but really had no idea what I was doing.

Thursday was a BIG day at work. So Big I think it won the title for my busiest day yet. It was the day of the Science Trust Project Workshop! I was a little nervous but to sum it up quickly I think all of the interns who attended enjoyed it. The other interns and I were in person, but Allie and Zack, the APS employees, were virtual. This meant I had to set up a hybrid style presentation that definitely posed some challenges. I had three computers up and either connected to zoom, or connected to the slideshow so I could read my notes. I am going to thank my years of school with a laptop for my tech skills. (A note to the future APS Public Engagement Intern, AIP doesn’t have a mac connection, so get ready to use Airplay...) After combating the technology the two hours of the workshop ZOOMED BY. Seriously, I blinked, and it was over. In the moment it seemed chaotic but looking back now I am very pleased with how everything went. The interns participated a lot in the breakout room discussions and seemed to have fun with the activity. After the workshop I hopped on a zoom meeting with my research advisor from last summer to go over my AAPT presentation and poster. I leave in 6 days for that conference. I am definitely a little nervous and have a lot of practicing to do this week. Next and finally I caught up with my mentor Nicole and checked in about my tasks for my short work week.

On Friday I stared my day with attending a STP debrief meeting where myself, Zack, and Allie discussed the workshop. We talked about what worked, what didn’t work, what was surprising, and a whole lot more. Most of my thoughts came down to the activity itself, which although people enjoyed, ended up going slightly different than we expected. I think the goal of the workshop this summer was to of course facilitate it for the interns, but the team also used it as a way to see how they can easily train other student facilitators in the future, and how to adapt the workshop for a younger audience. All in all, it was a great experience, and I am really excited to see what updates they make to this project in the future. After this meeting I had a quick chat with APS employee Stephanie Hervey, who works on the industry membership side of APS. I had no clue that there were industry members of this organization, so it was really interesting to hear about her work, and how vital it is to remember that physics people are everywhere and not only in academia. My main task for this day was to write up 2023 PhysicsQuest Extensions! Without spoiling the activities too much they focused on waves, so I did a lot of internet searching and thinking for cool ways to introduce this topic. I guess you’ll have to check out the PhysicsQuest website when they are published to see what I curated. Later on Friday I was able to call one of my friends from school and catch up about how our summers were, and then hung out with more interns at night.

This weekend was also very exciting because my three closet friends, Jessica, Sophia, and Benny, came down to D.C to spend the weekend with me. I met them at Union Station, and we then proceeded to travel all around the city. I think I hit 20,000 steps by the end of it. We started by getting a quick bite to eat at Tatte, explored the U.S Botanical Gardens, walked on the national mall, ate lunch at City Tap, walked past the White House, went to the Renwick Gallery, and stopped at my dorm. One of my friends had never been to D.C before so it was fun to show them around. Though, we did not stay in D.C. My roommate and first college friend Jessica who I met on zoom (shoutout Jessica if you’re reading this) lives right outside of Baltimore, and I thought it would be really fun to go to her house. We took a MARC train to Halethorpe Station, and then drove through her town Catonsville. The coolest part about being there was meeting her two cats Bella and O’Malley (pictured below). It was also fun to be staying in her house, especially after the hours and hours we spent on zoom with one another during peak COVID. I even got to see some baby pictures and get a quick tour of her town. We ended the night by watching a movie and then went to sleep.

On Sunday we woke up and stopped at Jessica’s local bagel place and farmers’ market for some food. I then said goodbye and took another train back to D.C and eventually took the metro home.

It was a crazy exhausting week, but I am glad I got to explore some more parts of D.C and of course, see some of my best friends. This upcoming week is going to definitely be busy, so I think I’m going to head to bed early tonight. See you all next week! Make sure to check out the photos below!

Week 7: Guidelines, Guidelines, Guidelines!

Happy week 7! I am writing this mostly on Friday night since I will be leaving for AAPT in less than 24 hours. Here is what I was up to this week.

I immediately got the ball rolling on work this week. Since receiving feedback on our guidelines, my mentor and I met to discuss the comments we received from the three teachers we talked to. It was a meticulous process, but we were able to select which comments we needed to add, and see a what guideliens they would like to see in a future version that were not included already. Also on Monday the APS interns met two more APS employees who work in the communications world. This meeting was extremely insightful, and we talked a lot about possible careers, and the importance of building your connections. Later I had one last Science Trust debrief meeting with their external evaluator, and ended the night with a zoom meeting for my dance team at Lafayette. At night I took a nice walk around GW with Ruthie. It was a nice way to spend some time outside, especially because it was not super humid.

Tuesday was the “day of the guidelines.” I spent most of my day creating the almost final draft of our PhysicsQuest guidelines. I ended up completely changing the format and moving some of the guidelines around to different sections. Something else I do is I write A LOT of comments on these documents that are my inner thoughts. It is funny when I go to read them back because sometimes they make absolutely no sense. I asked my mentor a bunch of questions but ended up having a solid and almost complete draft by the end of the day. I also started to think about my final presentation abstract and title which is due right when I get back from California. CRAZY. On Tuesday night I got dinner with one of my best friends from high school, Maya. She actually moved to Arizona, so it has been almost three years since we have seen each other in person. It was so nice to hang out with her!

On Wednesday I went into ACP bright and early as usual and went storage closet hunting. I was tasked with finding and shipping a few shirts and stickers of one of the other public engagement projects. The t-shirts were found immediately, but the stickers were a battle. I looked through almost every box and the stickers were nowhere to be found. I was about to give up, until I saw another crate hidden behind another box. Of course the stickers were right on top as soon as I opened it. I got those shipped out and continued working throughout the day. At night I went kayaking for the second time with Emily, Hannah, and Devin. It was really hot but we got to kayak towards the Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Center. I also became Instagram famous because the Potomac Conservancy posted a photo of me in my kayak. I will be signing autographs.

Thursday I went back into ACP for a workshop we had with AIP creative services. Actually, this was my last day at ACP due to the metro construction and my trip to California. It was a little bittersweet to say goodbye to my mini workspace but who knows... maybe I’ll be back one day! I was able to complete my draft of my abstract and also practice my AAPT presentation a few more times. At night we had our second potluck. The theme was “food from your childhood” so of course I brought dino nuggets. They were a huge hit. Shoutout to everyone for making really good food. I really enjoyed Daniil’s perogies.

Friday morning I joined in on a STEP UP meeting where I was able to meet a few members of the STEP UP team. I was just a listener in this meeting, but everyone was so welcoming. Since I have been working closely with some STEP UP materials, I have learned more and more about the project during these last 7 weeks, but I enjoyed hearing the inner-workings of what the team was up to. I am excited to meet those from the STEP UP team who will be at AAPT next week. Later that day I gave my complete AAPT presentation to Nicole. It went extremely well and she gave me some helpful feedback. At night a few interns stopped by to play some more videogames.

I’m going to end this blog here because tomorrow (Saturday) is a travel day and I will probably be busy Sunday. Next week is AAPT and although I am a bit sad to be leaving the interns for the week, I am super excited to make connections and get my first full conference experience. Make sure to check out the pictures below!

** Jenna here again. It’s Sunday and although my flight was super delayed, I made it to California!**

Week 8: Conference Time! (AAPT AND PERC)

Hello everyone. I’m actually writing this in the airport waiting for my flight back to D.C. It got delayed an hour, and now I have some time to kill. I figured I should be productive and write my blog. As you might know, this past week I was in Sacramento, California for the AAPT and PERC conference. It was an exhausting week, but for many good reasons.

Monday was my big presentation day! I got up nice and early and headed to the first-timers gathering where I learned some insider info about the conferences. Quickly after, I went to set up for my presentation. I honestly was not that nervous. I presented my work from my REU last summer where I worked with Dr. Geraldine Cochran. The presentation went realty well, and I got a lot of nice compliments from many people afterwards. I was really proud to finally present the work I had been working on for the past year at a conference as big as this one. After, I went to my friend Vanni’s talk. Vanni attended Lafayette with me, so it was good to catch up. Then, I went down to the exhibit hall and met Bree and Bryn from the STEP UP program. I had met Bree online last week, so it was nice to quickly say hello in real life and not through a computer screen. I ate lunch with AAPT intern Melissa, her mentor, and Jack Hehn. We had a really good conversation about the internship and the conference. *Tip for future interns: Talk to Jack! He has so many interesting stories and a lot of great advice.* After lunch I attended a few more talks, including Melissa’s, and snagged a free cupcake. I had dinner with Sierra, who is a grad student that is also helping my mentor Nicole with PhysicsQuest, specifically the web-design. I met her on a zoom call during my first week, so it was nice to have a familiar face in the area. I was so tired by the end of day 1 that I went to bed around 9:30.

On Tuesday I went to a K-12 session with STEP UP. Again, I’m not a teacher, but Nicole had encouraged me to meet the STEP UP team since I am sort of working with that program as part of my edits to PQ. It was really interesting to hear teachers explain the impact of the STEP UP lessons in their classrooms. After this talk I found out one of my Lafayette professors, Professor Stonaha, was actually attending the conference. I had to miss his talk but I was able to catch him in the exhbit hall. I also met Michael Wittmann, APS’s Head of Education, in the exhibit hall. We met on zoom a few weeks prior, and it was very nice to meet an APS employee in real life. We talked a bit about APS and my internship, and then headed to the plenary session. For lunch I met Professor Ben Pollard from WPI. We were put in contact through APS employee Sarah Monk, and we had a great conversation about graduate school in PER, and PER in general. He was even able to give me a list of programs that I should consider for graduate school. It was a great conversation, and he is definitely a contact I will keep in case I have further questions. After a quick nap I went to the PERCOGS student networking session. Not many attended which always makes things a bit awkward, but I still was greeted with friendly faces. Here I learned a bit about what PERCOGS is. (It is a group of graduate students who all do PER.) I then attended a poster session where I met Chandra Turpin, who Ruthie suggested I meet, and Diana Sachmpazidi. I read a lot of Diana’s work for my research and it was great to finally put a face to the name. She even said she was interested in collaborating with us- how cool! I went to dinner with Sierra again. We were supposed to go with someone Sierra had met, but he ended up leaving before we got to the restaurant. It was so bizarre, and Sierra and I could not stop laughing about it.

On Wednesday I slept in a little bit but made it in time for Sierra’s presentation about her work with PhysicsQuest. I was even given a shoutout! I then went to Liam McDermott’s presentation. He was my grad student mentor last summer and he gave a great talk on his research in neurodivergence in physics. Actually, on this trip I was able to meet all of Dr. Cochran’s students in person, many of which I had talked to on zoom calls before. We took a group pic (see below). I then went to the Plenary with Rachel Ivie from AIP. I felt special since I knew her and worked in the same office as her for these last few weeks. She gave a really good presentation presenting a lot of statistics about people doing physics and astronomy. After seeing Brad, I was invited to a SPS lunch. It was a little out of the blue but I could not say no to this special SPS lunch. I even made it on Brad’s Instagram. I will be signing autographs! When I returned to the conference center, I attended the PERC bridging session and then presented my poster. I think I talked to about 10 different people, all who were so impressed with my work. It felt really good to hear all of the feedback and compliments. I also realized that my research mentor, Dr. Cochran, is pretty famous in the PER world. I consider myself really lucky that I got to work with her. I then had dinner with Téa and Nax, who are some of the research students in my group.

I’m writing this on Thursday and it has been a LOONNGGG day. I stayed in my room until I had to check out at 12, but then had about 10 more hours to kill. I got lunch, attended the last PERC poster session, and then sat in the hotel lobby. I sat in the same spot for almost 6 hours and left once to get myself dinner. I watched a lot of dance moms and also called my sister. Samantha if you’re reading this here is your shoutout. I am now at the airport waiting for my flight...

This conference was overwhelming, but in all of the right ways. I met so many incredible people and built connections that will definitely help me in my future. It did also make me confused about what I want to do post-grad. There are just so many options. I definitely have a lot to think about, but the PER community is definitely one I would like to stay involved with in one way or another. Big shoutout to Dr. Cochran, her other research students, Rutgers, and Nicole for letting me take a few days off to come to California.

-------

Hey to whoever is reading this! I’m back in Foggy Bottom. After a long and delayed flight I returned back to Foggy Bottom Friday around 10 am. I then proceeded to basically sleep and recover for the next two days. I think I am finally back on East Coast timing. It is now Sunday and I just got back from the National Museum of African American History and Culture with Emily and Hannah. I heard so many great things about this place, and it did not disappoint. We were there for 3 hours and only explored the main exhibit. I will definitely have to come back and do the rest in the future.

Thanks for reading! Check out the photos below :)

Week 9: Wrapping Things Up

Hello everyone! Happy end of week 9. The fact I am typing that is actually crazy. 9 weeks ago I had no idea how much I would get up to in D.C. It is crazy to think that next week’s blog I’ll probably be posting from home. For now, let me share about this week.

On Monday the APS interns had a meet and greet with one of the APS journal editors. She gave us an informal presentation about what it is like to be an editor. Her job was a lot different than I had expected. For some reason when I hear the word editor I think of someone who reads and spellchecks the paper. Though, that is not the case. I learned that instead the editors are more like “coordinators” for the peer reviewing process. It was very interesting to learn about the back end of publishing. After that meeting I worked on editing my final PERC paper from the conference I just attended and finished my final presentation slides.

On Tuesday I met bright and early with Nicole to share about my time at AAPT and also go through my presentation. Before lunch, myself, Devin, and Jaden presented the first run through and draft of our presentation to most of the APS programming team. There was probably about 20 people on the call. It was definitely a little nerve-wracking, but all of the feedback I received was extremely helpful. I’m glad our mentors made us practice early. I then attended two more APS meet and greet zoom calls with members of the education team and the public affairs team. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the public affairs position and realized how important a job like that is. It is definitely a career option I had not really thought of before since I am not a gov/law major, but it seems that with a solid physics background, you can help make a lot of change. Maybe I’ll attend one of the APS congressional visit days next year. After dinner I went to catch one last Marine Drum Corps parade at the Lincoln Memorial with Brynn. We got there just in time for the drum corps and silent rifle performance, but then in classic D.C fashion, it started to thunderstorm. Hannah. Tiffany, and Ruthie had met us there, but we ended up turning around back to GW to avoid getting struck by lightning. Instead we had an impromptu game night in Devin and Jaden’s room where we played Azul. I wasn’t really playing but instead observing because I could not keep up with all of the rules. I did help Hannah make a few plays. We ended up hanging out until close to midnight! It’s these little memories that I will probably remember the most.

On Wednesday Hannah and I decided to do some of our work at ForFive coffee shop for a change of scenery. I was working on finalizing my slides once again and creating a curriculum rubric for PhysicsQuest. The goal is to create a rubric that we can send to teachers and reviewers along with the activities and guidelines to check that both are aligned. Hopefully the rubric will be something the PQ team can use again and again in the future. I also attended a STEP UP makeup session with some teachers from the Chicago area. I did introduce myself but I spent most of the zoom call just observing to hear a bit more from teachers in that program. At night, myself, Julia, Ruthie, MJ, and Brynn all went to the Kennedy Center to see Rent in Concert. This meant the national symphony orchestra was playing the score while famous Broadway actors were singing. I mostly went because I wanted to see Andrew Barth Feldman and Alex Boniello perform. Although we were sitting way up in the second tier, I am so glad I bought a ticket. It was a performance I won’t forget. (They were all so insanely talented, it makes me wish I could sing...)

Thursday morning started with a zoom call with Phoebe Sharp. Phoebe is a current grad student at GW, and also helps Nicole with some projects at APS. She was also a previous SPS intern and is involved with a lot of PER stuff. Nicole told me we should talk during the first week, and I am glad we finally got to meet. We talked about grad school, PER, the internship, APS and much more. Then all of the interns had a resume workshop with Midhat from APS. I have met Midhat before, but this workshop was extremely helpful. We learned how to make a skills-based resume, which is used to showcase important skills to a potential employer. As someone who is thinking about applying to jobs rather than grad school right now, getting these helpful tips was extremely useful. I took a lot of notes. I will be reaching out to Midhat in the future! I then had another check in meeting with Nicole to just go over a few last-minute things before our last week started. We even scheduled our last meeting – how sad. I then got dinner with my friend Emily from Lafayette before she left D.C this weekend.

On Friday all of the interns got to take a tour of NIST. I do not know what I expected, but it reminded me of when I visited Brookhaven national lab last summer. It was a massive campus with lots of buildings that were dimly lit and filled with a lot of fancy equipment. We made a few stops on this tour, but my favorite was visiting the lab that works in forensic sciences. I can’t do a great job explaining it but for example, this lab works on the machines that TSA uses when they swab your hands at the airport. They also had a very cool optical set up that showed heat that comes off of an object in order to track how residue and particles, say from drugs or explosives, travel in the air in ways we can’t see. This was also the lab that set certain standards and made videos showing how different COVID masks worked, which I thought was really interesting. The person who showed us around is also apparently in a Veritasium video on YouTube – so I suggest looking it up for a way better explanation! After a long tiring day at NIST, Hannah, Janessa, and I got one last District Taco meal. We were planning on going to a free movie at the Kennedy Center, but the rain had other plans for us. Instead we all played Jackbox together and we were all laughing so hard together. A few of us then went to spend some time out in Adams Morgan.

On Saturday I slept in extremely late. I did not mind because it was supposed to be disgustingly hot, and I wanted to avoid being outdoors at all costs. Instead, Janessa came over and we watched the live production of Newsies on Disney+. After dinner, a few of us went to the Georgetown Piano Bar to watch the dueling pianos. The two piano players played everything from Piano Man to Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero. It blew my expectations away.

I am so lucky to have had an amazing last 9 weeks here in Washington. Currently all of us are planning everything we want to do after work this week together in order to make the most of our last few days. Our schedule is jam-packed, but you’ll have to wait until my final blog to hear all about it.

Thanks for reading, check out the pictures below!

Week 10: One Last Time

” One last time, sit back read the blog with me...” – Lyrics by Lin Manuel Miranda with edits by me. Happy week 10! Before I get to all the sappy stuff here are the fun things that happened this last week.

On Monday I finalized my presentation and also met with Nicole to completely finalize my PhysicsQuest projects. After 10 weeks the guidelines have been finished! It is really cool to know that something I worked on will be used by APS in the future. At night some of the interns hung out at the national mall. We sat, talked, and played spike ball until it was so dark we couldn’t see the ball anymore. We also got bit by a lot of mosquitoes (bring bug spray).

On Tuesday I sent the final emails to the three teachers I had been talking to this summer asking them to send their feedback using our rubric and the new 2023 PhysicsQuest lessons. Later that night, myself, Julia, Hannah, Brynn, and Janessa went out to North Italia for dinner. It was a bit of a more expensive meal, but we all deserved it. We then had a dessert potluck where everyone brought a dessert. Hannah and I brought cookies, but some other highlights included Ruthie’s brownies and Jaden’s successful cake.

Wednesday marked my last official APS working day. In the morning I had one last zoom call with Nicole, Allie, and Claudia. It was more of a “celebration” zoom than a work zoom, so we ended up talking about the summer and reflecting back on the many things I did. Of course I told them how grateful I was for all of their amazing support this summer as well. I am actually going to continue to work with them throughout the year on some Science Trust Project stuff, so it wasn’t really goodbye, but it was goodbye to my internship position. To round off the day, I logged on to the APS Birthday Bash, and it did not disappoint. In the evening some of us went down to the Wharf for one last concert outside. We played Jenga, and of course got some shake shack.

On Thursday we had our rehearsal where we split into groups, presented, and got feedback. It was very nice to see what everyone had been working on, and also get feedback from people who had not seen my presentation before. After my practice I was feeling very confident, and just had to adjust a few formatting things until I submitted the final version. Thursday was also the day Heartstopper season 2 came out. Throwback to when I saw Joe and Kit at the pride parade. Ruthie and I sat and watched the first episode and then took a brief break so we could pack. We said we would only watch the first episode but ended up watching the first five later that night. Oh well. I’m glad we got to watch it together because we had been talking about it for so long. That night all of the interns also went to Tonic together for one last meal. We then helped pack some of the SPS bins of random items for future interns.

Finally, the last day of the program – Presentation Day! We got there bright and early to enjoy a brief breakfast and calm our nerves. Each intern was gifted a physics book based on their work/personality etc, and we ended up going around and signing each other’s like a yearbook. Then at 10 am, the presentations promptly began. I went around 12:30, but the entire time I was so proud of everyone who presented. I knew generally what each person was working on, but it was so exciting to see all of the hard work everyone put in throughout these last 10 weeks. I think my presentation went extremely well, and my family even got to watch on the livestream from home. At the end of the presentations, we all happily ate lunch and reflected back on these last 10 weeks. Of course we took lots of pictures. Once we said our goodbyes to the SPS team (Brad, Kayla, and Mikayla) we all went back to the dorm. Hannah and I got one last roommate chipotle dinner, and then I went to sit at the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sunset with Clay, Devin, Colin, and Emily. After the sunset, all of the interns met up one last time to hang out. We ended up going around and sharing our favorite memories with one another. Eventually, we had to start saying goodbye. It was definitly hard to hold back tears, but it was so nice to have such a great end of the program all together just like we had started.

It is hard to put into words how amazing this summer was, and how emotional I felt saying goodbye to this intern cohort. 10 weeks ago, I had no idea who anyone was, but now I have connections that will stay in my life forever. I feel extremely lucky to have had this experience for so many different reasons and cannot wait to see where each of us ends up in our futures. We all promised to keep in touch, and I really hope we do.

Lastly, one last major shoutout to my mentor Nicole for absolutely all of her help and guidance this summer! I’m so thankful that I got to be a part of the SPS and APS family, and hope I find myself back there in one way shape or form.

Thank you for following along with my summer. Hi to future Jenna too – I know you will read this again someday.

Thanks for reading! As always check out the photos below. Jenna, APS Public Engagement Intern 2023, signing out !