ReSET team volunteers are expected to do the following:

• Spend one hour a week during a six-week period performing experiments with your assigned class.
• Prepare experiments that relate to the work you are now doing or have done.
• Encourage children to consider careers in science, technology and engineering by talking about what real professionals do and what kinds of jobs are available.
• Invite the classroom teacher to give input on the experiments to ensure that the children will be challenged appropriately for their learning level.
• Have fun! This is your opportunity to help children make important decisions about their futures by showing them how much fun learning about science, technology and mathematics can be.

An easy transition to the classroom

All volunteers attend an orientation during which seasoned ReSET volunteers talk about their experiences and offer suggestions. You will be provided with a ReSET Volunteer’s Handy Guide to Classroom Visits, which offers teaching ideas, sample experiments and suggested field trips. ReSET also provides you with any materials you need, and our Volunteer Coordinator will lay the groundwork for you to begin working directly in an elementary school classroom.

One of the most popular components of the ReSET program is the field trip, which caps the six weeks of in-class experiments. Past field trips have included the National Institutes of Health, the Goddard Space Center, a PEPCO power plant, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Zoo.

After your volunteer commitment is complete, you will be asked to provide an evaluation and description of your classroom experience so that we may continue to enrich the ReSET program for future volunteers, teachers and children.