Engaging the Public with Planetary Science using Hands-On Activities

Incorporating activities at public outreach events that are interactive will likely bolster a person's digestion of the material that is being disseminated. People are more likely to pay attention to what someone is telling them when they are actually involved in the discussion. Rather than solely speaking with people from behind a table, integrating hands-on activities will make for a more engaging outreach experience. As the Events Outreach Coordinator for the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, I myself along with my team have used such interactive activities as: a lunar landing site activity where participants are able to select their own landing site on the Moon, a meteorite kit with terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples that people can touch and investigate, and crustal magnetic field maps where participants are able to explore the magnetic fields of different planetary bodies by using magnets. Witnessing the increased interest that stems from engaging the public with hands-on activities strengthens my desire to continue to incorporate these interactive activities at public engagement events.