Ohio House of Science and Engineering

Three girls use the power of their breath to move a small toy car

Ohio House of Science and Engineering (OHSE) is a science and engineering consortium within The Ohio State University that aims to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education throughout central Ohio in grades K-20.

It has numerous well-established STEM outreach and public science literacy programs that have been serving the community for over 15 years and serve on average 2,000-2,500 students and more than 100 teachers per year. In addition to outreach efforts from academia, OHSE brings together scientists and engineers in the private industry with Ohio’s teachers to improve science and technology education in their classrooms. Over the years, companies like Battelle and Chemical Abstracts participated heavily in these efforts and OHSE is committed to expand these efforts to a wider spectrum.

Goals

  • Establish collaborations between scientists and K-12 school districts;

  • Engage active scientists and engineers in the community to participate in K-20 science outreach efforts;

  • Provide opportunities for talented undergraduate/graduate STEM majors to volunteer in local schools;

  • Facilitate sharing of resources and ideas among existing science and engineering outreach groups to amplify the outcomes of their efforts.

OHSE provides opportunities for scientists, engineers and STEM major college students to serve as STEM team leaders in local schools. OHSE staff will train volunteers through workshops, supply all the necessary materials and provide transportation to and from schools.

OHSE takes Ohio State student volunteers, as well as industry volunteers into the classrooms to present the experiments to children excited about learning. Volunteers, who usually serve in the elementary and middle school programs (WOW and [WOW]2), get a chance to help the teachers facilitate science experiments in the classroom and provide more individual assistance to the students.