Chemistry Outreach – Reaching Out to Students and Laypeople

Science communication is a promising means for improving the awareness and understanding of scientific concepts by the public, therefore facilitating the transition towards a society consisting mainly offunctional adults, capable of making informed decisions, less susceptible to pseudoscientific currents. Science outreach initiatives are a form of science communication that can be used to educate both students and the general public in an informal context, by employing entertaining activities, matched to the knowledge level of the target audience, and emphasizing the impact of science on day-to-day life. By mostly incorporating hands-on activities, science outreach events foster a sense of self-efficacy in the participants, which in time may lead to increased interest towards science and the likelihood that the participants may seek sciencerelated activities themselves.