We connect the classroom to the community for a healthier people and a healthier world. Join us!

The College promotes and supports community engagement efforts throughout our science community with service learning and engaged scholarship across campus, Corvallis, Oregon and beyond — building these community connections scaffolds the future of science.

Through community service and outreach, you can gain a stronger sense of purpose and responsibility, which can help you reach your academic, personal and professional goals. A science education certainly helps you grow intellectually, but connecting to a broader community, whether across the region, state, nation or world, engages your sense of identity.

Explore volunteer opportunities at OSU and feed your desire to give back to your community with your time, talent and energy! Learn more about university-wide Community Engagement & Leadership.

Discovery Days

Sponsored by the Colleges of Science, Discovery Days strives to encourage elementary students to pursue STEM career fields and become the future generation of doctors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, data scientists, physicists and other growing STEM careers. The program provides hands-on activities showcasing science, math and engineering. The volunteers are mostly Oregon State science and engineering students eager to pass along their love of science to young students.

Look for 2026 Discovery Days dates in the fall of 2025.

Discovering the Scientist Within

Join the College of Science and others to introduce middle school girls to careers in science, technology and engineering. The Saturday workshop includes hands-on activities and the opportunity to meet successful women engineers, doctors, veterinarians, research scientists and university professors.

Associated Women In Science, Engineering and Mathematics Club

The AWSEM Club is designed to nurture girls’ interest in STEM by connecting them with positive, women role models in STEM and by introducing girls to STEM careers in which women are traditionally underrepresented. The program also seeks to change the stereotypical perception that scientists and engineers are male and to reinforce that STEM fields are accessible and open to everyone! Undergraduate women in science and engineering majors are encouraged to join and serve as mentors.

Saturday Academies

Our Saturday Academies are not just on Saturdays! The program is designed to engage all motivated young people from grades 2 through 12 — including those from underrepresented communities — in hands-on, in-depth learning by connecting them to community experts as educators and mentors. All pre-college students can interact with experts and experience professional environments in ways that help them develop intellectually and prepare them for rewarding careers.

STEM Academy Camps

Week-long STEM Academy Camps offer an excellent starting point for middle school students in grades 5-8 to delve into in-depth studies of Health Sciences, Lego Robotics, Marine Mammal Ecology and more.

Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE)

The Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE), a 30-year old program at OSU, provides a broad range of programs to help underrepresented students succeed in STEM degrees and careers. The program also provides professional development resources that create better teachers. The College of Science is a proud partner of SMILE.

SMILE clubs provide a supportive network in rural communities across Oregon, offering after-school precollege programs. These events are designed to engage students in grades 4-12 in STEM activities that incorporate art, design and communication and contribute to creative and innovative problem-solving. The weekly afterschool club meetings also serve as testing grounds for teachers to introduce, evaluate and adapt new activities for their classrooms.

Family Science and Engineering Nights

Family Science and Engineering Nights (FSENs) are held in local elementary schools within a 45-minute drive of Oregon State University. FSENs are offered on certain Thursday nights throughout the University term from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Join our OSU faculty in creating a fun family event with hands-on science and engineering activities.

Past event activities have included dry ice, liquid nitrogen, gel polymers, Segway scooters, rockets and chromatography.