What is Providence Science Outreach?

Providence Science Outreach (PSO) is a student-run science outreach program that operates out of the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University. Founded in 1992 to provide primary science education in underfunded Providence schools, our hands-on approach to teaching science has reached over 3,000 students in the past seventeen years. PSO currently runs after school science enrichment programs at two public elementary schools in inner-city Providence, William D’Abate Elementary in Olneyville and Asa Messer Elementary in the West End.

Our enrichment programs are designed to help children understand key concepts in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Physics and the Scientific Method. Clubs are structured around hands-on, small group activities that encourage children to explore and apply scientific principles under the guidance of a Brown student mentor. PSO helps students discover the world of science by making it accessible and enjoyable. Lessons include testing the five senses, making slime, building bridges, and making ice cream!

Our Mission

Providence Science Outreach’s mission is to engage children in science as a way to better understand the world around them, helping them to develop creative reasoning skills in an environment that they find exciting and fun. PSO volunteers teach and mentor children in after school Science Clubs, introducing students to scientific methods and principles through group activities that stress hands-on, active learning. We hope to teach children that science is not just a collection of facts and theories, but a systematic way to ask questions and examine evidence that they can apply to their everyday lives.

PSO strives to address basic inequalities in access to science education by focusing its resources on children who attend elementary schools in some of Providence’s poorest neighborhoods. At the same time, we are dedicated to fully taking advantage of the knowledge and experience our community partners bring to our collaborations. PSO strives to generate a positive dialog between Brown students and teachers, administrators, and staff members in Providence public schools so that Brown students can learn to recognize and react to the specific needs of the communities we serve.

PSO mentors act as positive role models to the children they mentor, showing kids that they can personally relate to Brown students engaged in scientific pursuits. By illustrating the range of scientific interests and personal backgrounds that PSO volunteers bring to this program, we hope to teach children that both higher education and scientific careers are within their reach.

For more information on volunteering with PSO, check out our Volunteer FAQ.