Dark Skies, Brights Kids (or DSBK) is an after school program for elementary school students in rural Virginia, run by volunteers at the University of Virginia. It was started by Prof. Kelsey Johnson in 2009 and has grown ever since. DSBK focuses on making astronomy fun by offering hands-on activities and family observing nights. Volunteers spend several weeks with one school, building relationships with the students and acting as positive role models.
I was a founding and very active member of DSBK, developing lessons and volunteering at schools. I moved on from DSBK when I graduated from the University of Virginia but I still stay informed on what's going on. DSBK was the inspiration for the "Astronomy Days" program I started at McGill, and many of our activities are borrowed from DSBK.
CLUSTER loans small portable telescopes to educators throughout Virginia for use in classrooms or for community star parties. Before taking the telescopes, participants are trained in their use and given a number of supporting resources that they can use for their classes and events. I was a founding member of CLUSTER and volunteered at many training sessions while I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia.
The May-term Institute was a two-week summer school held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Undergraduate students did hands-on radio astronomy and engineering projects and toured facilities in Green Bank, WV and Charlottesville, VA. The program especially focused on students from under-represented groups in West Virginia and Virginia. I was a mentor for the full two-week period, helping students with their research projects and giving them insight into what it was like to pursue a career in the sciences.