All National Science Foundation funded MRSEC centers have education, outreach and community service as one of their major objectives. The Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM) takes this commitment very seriously. PCCM runs a full slate of education activities including a host of Pre-college science and engineering programs and a research experience for undergraduates and teachers program each summer. Our outreach programs are designed to increase awareness, appreciation and knowledge of materials science.

Liberty Science Center (LSC) in Jersey City, New Jersey and the Strange Matter traveling exhibit allowed PCCM to expand its outreach program to include tens of thousands of family audience members. LSC gets 1000's of visitors each weekend, and has expertise in communicating with this audience. Princeton University scientists have expertise in materials science. This partnership required coordination between the LSC staff and the PCCM outreach director in facilitating the training and presentations by faculty and other scientists from Princeton. Together we developed a program that sent over 30 scientists from Princeton University to the liberty science center to offer their enthusiasm for material science to the public. Scientists can reach a much larger audience at a science center than at their home institutions. This can be repeated anywhere in the country where there are science centers is and university research centers willing to work together.