Physics and Astronomy for Community Engagement (PACE) at University of Michigan-Flint

Outreach programs are paramount to succeeding as an educational institution, particularly when its students are involved in the organizational process. What is more important is that a legacy city of Flint's stature needs a variety of outreach initiatives to jump start the mechanism of growth and resilience that would take it back to its illustrious past. This work, aptly called PACE, centers around working with high schools, in the greater Flint neighborhood, to foster their participation in physics themed events. The idea is to take simpler facets of experimental physics research to middle schools and high schools to imbibe a sense of curiosity and scientific acumen among them. The first module (held in April 2021) of this PACE program focused on organizing a Physics competition wherein high school students presented an experimental demonstration of their choice. This was followed by a 2-day (October 2021) Physics Campfair where Teachers and Students participated in experimental analysis of LED emissions using an optical spectrometer. Subsequently, they studied the current-voltage characteristics of these LEDs and compared their behavior to that of conventional resistors.