Community Outreach

Rice’s Vision for the 2nd Century states, “We must fully engage with the city of Houston — learning from it and contributing to it — as a successful partnership with our home city is an essential part of our future. We should do so by continuing to integrate Houston into the educational experience of our students, by emphasizing selective areas of research especially important to the city (notably energy and urban studies), by making tangible contributions to improve our city (particularly K–12 education and environmental quality), and by continuing to provide innovative educational and cultural resources to the broader Houston population.”

Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Rice Space Institute collaborates with Houston Museum of Natural Science on several outreach programs:

• Master of Science Teaching Program trains teachers in earth and space science content.
  
• Public Connection Program brings high-quality earth and space science content to museums, schools and the public. These were started with NASA seed money and some are now being commercially distributed by the software company Space Update, Inc. Free copies are distributed to teachers at conferences through grants. Over 150,000 CD's and DVD's have been distributed. Well over one million visitors have interacted with these exhibits at various museums.
  
• Discovery Dome Program creates planetarium shows for large digital theaters (first earth science shows in the country, second digital theater in the world), as well as creating and distributing portable theaters: the Discovery Dome. RSI has created a number of shows which Rice holds the copyright on. The Discovery Dome network now has 56 installations in 11 countries and 19 states.

The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum of Rice University 

The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum  is a teaching and research resource of Rice University. An outdoor classroom spanning the Rice campus, it serves programs in biology, engineering, architecture, literature, and interdisciplinary studies on the environment. The Arboretum consists of a collection of woody plants dispersed throughout the Rice University campus that represents native and introduced species suitable to the soils and climate of the Houston area. Dedicated on March 18, 1999,  the arboretum honors the distinguished horticulturist whose life and work were dedicated to spreading knowledge and appreciation for the trees and plants of the Gulf Coast of the United States and northern Mexico.

NanoKids Educational Outreach Program

The NanoKids^TMEducational Outreach  program, headed by Dr. James M. Tour, Chao Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice University, is dedicated to increasing public knowledge of the nanoscale world and the emerging molecular research and technology that is rapidly expanding internationally. Based on actual anthropomorphic molecules synthesized in the laboratory, the NanoKids™ visual concept utilizes universally recognized forms exhibiting human characteristics to instruct, motivate, and entertain.

Rice Observatory

Operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Rice Campus Observatory features a computerized 16" Meade telescope, and several smaller telescopes for use primarily in undergraduate courses at Rice. The observatory  is open for public viewing several nights throughout the year, usually with a faculty member on-site available to answer questions on astronomy. Please refer to our schedule of open houses for dates and times. 

Rice University Mathematical Institute for Young Women

The Rice University Mathematical Institute for Young Women is a summer math enrichment program for 20 mathematically gifted rising 9th and 10th grade women from the Houston area. The program will introduce the students to abstract mathematics through knot theory and its applications. This outreach program is funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant.

Rice University School Mathematics Project

The Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) was established in 1987, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, in order to provide a bridge between the Rice University mathematics research community and Houston area mathematics teachers.

The mission of the Rice University School Mathematics Project is to help teachers and administrators better understand the nature of mathematics, the effective teaching and assessing of mathematics, and the importance of mathematics in today's society. Our major goal is to enhance the mathematical and pedagogical knowledge of Houston K-12 math teachers and support them in implementing more effective mathematics programs.

Sally Ride Science Festival

The mission of the Sally Ride Science Festival, which began in 2006, is to encourage middle school girls towards careers in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). In 2006 Sally Ride was the featured speaker. Sally Ride Science Festivals bring together hundreds of middle school students for a festive day of science and socializing. Parents and teachers are welcome too! 

 
School Science and Technology

School Science & Technology (SST) was initiated by Dr. Wallace Dominey in 1997 to improve science instruction in Houston area public schools. A partnership quickly developed with Aldine ISD, a large, urban, historically underrepresented minority school district in the Houston area. This partnership, the Rice University/Aldine ISD Science Collaborative (RASC), was awarded a “Special Recognition” partnership award from the Texas Governor’s Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in 2002.

School Science & Technology now serves hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers in the Houston area and beyond. The program has grown to include science and technology teacher professional development for grades K-12, and technology support and web-based applications for teachers. There are currently 25 full time science specialists supporting science instruction in Aldine ISD as a continuation of a partnership with SST.

Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies

The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University is the leading university continuing education program in Houston. Continuing Studies offers timely educational programs for the general public, representing the best of academic scholarship and professional expertise. A wide range of non-credit courses and certificate programs is offered in personal development, foreign languages and professional development. Since 1968, Continuing Studies has helped Houstonians reach their personal and professional goals.