Calling scientists to get involved in scicomm and early education

I have been very worried about the distrust of science and scientific thinking that is creeping into the public and political discourse in the US. If we do not keep science and technology at the forefront of our economic agenda, progress and innovation will stop. Most importantly, I truly believe that more scientific thinking (approaching everything around you with an open, curious and critical mind) can really make the world a better place. One solution for this is for scientists to really get out there to do outreach and education. There are days when I seriously consider quitting my job to tour the Southern and Central states of the US to speak about evolution and neuroscience and the importance of scientific thinking in general. Follow Amanda Glaze (@EvoPhD) for more on this.

I occasionally do outreach for K-12 whenever asked and I do a lot of career development activity, but I felt like I could have more impact by working with an organization. I asked Twitter if anyone could recommend programs to help me find one and boy, the science Tweeps replied!!

There were so many great programs that I thought to collect all the suggestions so that anyone else scientist or teacher trying to create new connections could benefit from this list. Please continue to suggest programs in the comments or on Twitter @TheNewPI and I will add them.

Let's get involved, people!

US programs
Global STEM Alliance (US) - New York Academy of Science programs providing mentoring for kids and young scientists locally in NY and globally
Scientist in the Classroom (US) - National Center for Science Education program to connect scientists and teachers
Science Education Partnership Awards (US) - lists and maps of all funded NIH R25 science education programs so that you can find one near you
BioEyes (US/Australia) - K-12 education programs using zebrafish as a model
Find a Neuroscientist (US/global) - Society for Neuroscience catalog of scientists willing to visit classrooms
MAD science (US) - company providing after school program (may also be an option if you think about transitioning into a full-time outreach career)
Letters to a pre-scientist (US/global) - connects scientists with kids who want to know more about science and what a scientist does
Skype in the Classroom (US/global) - Microsoft effort to allow speakers to interact with classrooms around the world

Local/university outreach program
Science Bus (CA) - after school program K2-5 staffed by the Stanford community
NWABR Speaker Bureau (North West US) - North West Association for Biomedical Research has programs for outreach and promoting science in the community
DC STEM Network (DC) - offers volunteering opportunity to teach and do outreach in the DC area
Penn STEM outreach (PA) -
Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach (NY)
Neuroscience Outreach Group at NYU (NY)

North America
Let's Talk Science (Canada) - mobilize university/college students and STEM professionals for outreach
Clubes de Ciencia (Mexico) - connect K-12 students with young scientists