LEAPS brings Santa Ana middle-schoolers to UCI Physical Sciences

On March 5th, 48 students from Sierra Preparatory Academy in the Santa Ana Unified School District visited the UC Irvine School of Physical Sciences to take part in Laboratory Experiments and Activities in the Physical Sciences (LEAPS) outreach program, which brings underrepresented students from Santa Ana schools to the four UCI Physical Sciences departments so they can see science in action. The students saw live demonstrations of how to make toothpaste for elephants, what happens when you light a gummy bear, and how to use ultraviolet light to make invisible ink appear on a piece of paper. After their lab tours, the students toured the campus and dined at the Brandywine dining hall. “The program was a success,” said Ash Hormaza, who’s the program coordinator for the Office of Access, Outreach and Inclusion at Physical Sciences. “I hope the students had fun, were able to envision themselves as future university students and left with curiosity and a desire to learn more about science.” Another LEAPS visit will happen on May 17th.