CBC Outreach Event Highlights

CBC continues to receive a significant number of outreach requests from different schools and organizations to present and participate in outreach, such as providing demonstrations and interactive demonstrations, scheduling lab tours, having chemistry “magic shows,” meeting potential students, and attending high school career fairs.

CBC has a long history of engaging our community. CBC faculty, staff members, and several volunteer student groups respond to outreach requests from schools and organizations in the Tucson area. We love the opportunities to show the amazing world of chemistry and biochemistry to lifelong learners of all ages!

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Ryenne Belt & Camp Wildcat

Ryenne Belt is a senior studying Biochemistry with minors in Data Science and Spanish. “I have also been the chair of Camp Wildcat, a student-run non-profit here on campus. We work to provide free, weekend-long camps and day activities for underprivileged children in the Tucson area. This has truly been a pillar in my college experience and I love going on camping trips about once a month with the kids, a little break from everything school related. Our mission is to promote college/higher education encouragement, critical skills, and fun by connecting kids with college student mentors in a safe and engaging environment. As Chair for the past two years, I’ve helped oversee our programming and lead the executive board. We're always looking for passionate, fun, and dedicated students to join us as counselors — it’s a great way to make a difference while forming meaningful connections with other students and the Tucson community! Another fun fact- we are actually the oldest club on campus! We're celebrating our 60th here on campus with our huge network of alumni.” ~ Ryenne.

Recently, Ryenne got to direct a camp where they took 24 fifth graders from Gale Elementary on a camping trip and they all had a blast! If you're interested in getting involved, feel free to join their GroupMe or check them out on Instagram @campwildcat to learn more!

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CBC PAWS at the Tucson Festival of Books

PAWS hosted a booth in the Science of Everyday Life tent within Science City at the 2025 Tucson Festival of Books. Thirty graduate and undergraduate students from CBC worked together to engage with the festival attendees and spark an interest in science. They explored the fascinating world of chemistry with colorful demonstrations using pH and redox reaction experiments. It was a great opportunity to inspire the next generation of scientists and make learning fun for all!

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CBC at University High Schools' College & Career Fair

On February 28th, 2025, CBC attended Rincon and University High Schools’ College & Career Fair. CBC was represented by Dr. Tara Archuleta and CBC Ambassadors Megan Hahn, Ronald Palmenberg, and Michaela Ryan. Students asked our ambassadors questions relating to course work, how they liked the major, and how the major would be a good fit for their career goals. The students were excited to hear what our undergraduates do outside of classes, such as research, outreach, clubs, and other professional development activities!

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Cottonwood Elementary School students visit CBC

On Thursday, February 27, 2025, 5^th graders from Cottonwood Elementary School visited CBC. It was great to see these young people so excited to be on a college campus and getting to visit the labs. Drs. Brooke Massani and Paul Lee, along with Tiffany Luu, Abena Oduro-Gyaminah, Natalie Sanchez and Samantha Thomas, CBC Ambassadors escorted the guests, and they got to see a glass blowing demonstration and tour the Laboratory for Electron Spectroscopy and surface Analysis and the Keck Center for Nanoscale Imaging.

They did copper to zinc to brass pennies as a hands-on demonstration with the visitors getting to try on lab coats, goggles, and gloves. Afterwards they had lunch and Dr. Lee presented a chemistry show. There were many questions that were sent to CBC by our guests and some of them are ‘Are protons, neutrons, and electrons the smallest things of the universe?’, ‘Are Elements still being created and put on the periodic table?’, and ‘If atoms are not living things, then how are we living?’.

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CBC participates in University High School Penguin Pathways Event

On Friday, February 14th, 2025, Dr. Tara Archuleta and Sam Ellis, CBC Undergraduate, attended the University High School Penguin Pathways Event. Students explored the chemical properties of biological antimicrobials and antibiotics by crystallizing an antimicrobial enzyme, lysozyme. This allowed the students to understand the importance of studying molecular structures in pharmacology and clinical therapeutics. This lesson exposed students to career paths within the fields of biochemistry and chemistry.

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Chemistry Club at Carrillo School

The Chemistry Club participated by presenting a Chemistry (Magic) Show at the STAR PARTY at Carrillo Communication & Creative Arts Magnet School on February 7, 2025. At this event, the kindergarten class had a musical, and there were student projects and art work on the solar system. They also had a planetarium.

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Undergraduate Journal Club at Fruchthendler Elementary School

On February 6, 2025, the Undergraduate Journal Club, represented by members Ryenne Belt, Imani Ralph, Natalie Rawlings, Bryce Wilson, and Olivia Gibbons, participated in a vibrant outreach event at Fruchthendler Elementary School's Family Science Night. Demo experiments included elephant toothpaste, making a glow tube with luminol, and witnessing the high flammability of nitrocellulose by lighting cotton balls on fire! The Undergraduate Journal Club presented to an audience of around 80 elementary school students and parents.

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