The National Center for Science Education Science Booster Kits 

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) provides their Science Booster Clubs and Graduate Fellows monthly kits for science outreach activities through their Breaking Down Barriers Program. The kits are Beta tested for optimization and arrive ready to go! They even come with instructional videos (which is my favorite). These kits are used monthly for our Super STEM Program at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh- Hill District Location. What makes these kits great are that they are composed of readily available components making them easy to put together (and at a reasonable price). Even if you do not belong to a booster club, feel free to use these activities as a resource for your next #scicomm activity.  Learn more about the work NCSE is doing!
Buzz Off!
​The purpose of this activity is to explore the changes in mosquito populations over the last several decades. The participants must collect different mosquitoes (uninfected, Zika virus, and West Nile). This activity also has a bonus activity where the participants can make a key chain to take home. The key chain is used to represent different mosquito control methods! 
Geology Park 
​The purpose of this activity is to introduce the participants to the different geologic time periods, as well as the plants and animals that lived during these times. The participants will time travel back in time and find misplaced organisms (pants and animals) during each time period. Additionally, they will investigate the conditions of the time period through the measurement of temperature, air quality, and altitude. There is also an interactive app that allows you to collect your clues and determine your air quality (available for IOS and android).
Cool Cities
​The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the urban heat island effect by building your own city. Asphalt and buildings retain a lot of heat, making them warmer then the country sides. The participants will attempt to build a city that remains reasonably cool. 
kNow Your Nitrates 
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the effects of fertilizer runoff, as well as the nitrogen cycling. Through this activity the participants will demonstrate the effects of fertilizer of groundwater. 
Rising Tides
The purpose of this activity is to understand that climate change is causing sea level rise. The participants will design, build, and test a solution to sea level rise. Through this activity the participants will understand the basics of the engineering design process and that the solution is not always achieved in the first try! 
Flu Shot 
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how a flu vaccine is made and why the flu vaccine works. The participants will get a short background on vaccines and then will "build" a flu shot following the provided recipe. 
Turtle Time
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the homology between  turtles. The participants will determine how 8 sea turtles are related by building a phylogenetic tree using traits such as shell plates.