The CDCM Stuff program engages diverse young learners and public audiences in the beauty, excitement, and impact of materials science and materials-based technologies. CDCM has facilitated 39 events during this reporting period, impacting more than 2,300 community participants. To foster accessibility in science outreach, CDCM has worked closely with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) and the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, on programs to engage their students in hands-on, accessible scientific activities. CDCM has hosted three STEM days at TSVBI that engage blind and visually impaired students ranging from 8 to 17 years of age. Materials-based accessible activities are facilitated at the event by CDCM personnel, allowing the students to interact with science and engineering in a hands-on and engaging manner. CDCM also facilitates a science club at the Texas School for the Deaf serving 16 deaf and hard of hearing students. Students are engaged in active learning with hands-on activities and experiments that allow them to explore all aspects of science. CDCM successfully expanded its afterschool science club program into four additional elementary and middle schools this year. CDCM graduate student, staff and faculty developed engaging, hands on curriculum for this series including activities such as a forensics challenge, density column design and experimentation, leaf chromatography experiment, and strawberry DNA extraction challenge.
