Santa Cruz Organization for Outreach in Physics

Meet the SCOOP Troop!

We are the UCSC Santa Cruz Organization for Outreach in Physics (SCOOP)! We’re an organization that makes physics accessible to everyone. We host local events reaching a wide array of communities, ranging from middle schoolers to veteran physicists!

Last spring we began our tradition of bringing UCSC physics undergraduates up to Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton. These trips allow students to get a firsthand experience with a renowned telescope—giving them a great opportunity to dive into novel research. Students go on a tour of the facilities, hear lectures on the unique history of Lick, and get to engage with seasoned astronomers during observations of fascinating objects like stellar clusters, other worlds, and plenty more through their suite of telescopes! Your donations allow us to host events like these, and to remove the financial barriers that block many students from these wonderful and unique opportunities.

One of our most popular events is our "Dumb Questions Night," a night where Santa Cruz locals, students, and faculty alike gather to ask their most burning "dumb" questions! Each year hundreds of community members engage with UCSC's physics faculty from all types of disciplines.

We are eager to extend UCSC's physics education to local middle schools! This winter we will be going to Shoreline Middle School and hosting fun demonstrations and accessible talks. Our goal is to show the future generations that STEM and physics are accessible fields. Donations would directly contribute to this important opportunity, as well as future middle school outreach events. Even small donations will go a long way in funding hands-on demonstrations that show how fun physics is!