Featured II

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:30:15 +0000

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 03/03/2026 - 12:30

Mentored by staff from the Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado Boulder students develop picture books that focus on a specific region of East Asia. These books are then used as teaching tools in K-12 classrooms across Colorado.

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Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:42:57 +0000

Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 02/25/2026 - 13:42

Madeline Brant , Gretchen Minekime

The first month of �� Boulder’s sesquicentennial year was the perfect time to host the campus’s inaugural Community Engagement Week. Produced by the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES),the late-January event brought together a cross-section of faculty, staff and students passionate about partnering with communities beyond campus.

Through panels, workshops and a poster showcase, attendees shared experiences, networked and built their knowledge and skills for conducting community engagement. They also learned about the university’s history and a long-standing charge “to render to the state at large such public service as may lie within its power.”

According to David Meens, assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship, “Events like this give us a chance to see that bigger picture of service and engagement, to see our role within it. It’s great for morale and for making new connections. A lot of folks I spoke with said they learned of activities they weren’t aware of and made connections that might lead to new collaborations.”

Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing set the week’s tone by detailing the historical, current and future priorities for community engagement at �� Boulder. Schmiesing described the newly instated“hub and spoke” model the campus will follow and emphasized the importance of forming collaborative partnerships across Colorado and within the university. She also celebrated �� Boulder’s first-time application and attainment of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

Marisol Morales, executive director of Carnegie Elective Classifications, attended to celebrate �� Boulder’s accomplishment and to speak on a panel alongside Colorado State Senator Iman Jodeh and Diane Doberneck, director for faculty and professional development at the Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship at Michigan State University. Moderated by David Humphrey, associate vice chancellor for leadership support and programming, the panel addressed the civic role of universities and what it means to step out and lead.

Attendees reported being deeply inspired by presentations from Max Boykoff, Jota Samper, Valeria Henao, Beth Osnes-Stoedefalke and Karla Trujillo, as well as by the 42 showcase presenters whose work spans from engineering education for rural K-12 students to music research. Workshops were hosted on days two and three, with sessions led by Doberneck and Patti Clayton, senior scholar at the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement at University of North Carolina Greensboro.

The workshops provided a forum for individuals with diverse experiences in community-engaged scholarship specifically to share their work and to reflect on how context shapes approaches to engaged-research, teachingand creative work. Both Doberneck and Clayton emphasized the importance of honoring community partners, co-designing engagement activities and fostering trust and mutual respect. �� Boulder’s own Michelle Renée Valladares led a workshop about funding community-engaged scholarship and will build on that content with additional offerings on March 10 and April 14.

Community Engagement Week’s closing event punctuated the importance of reflecting on the university's past as we move forward. Meens was joined by Richard B. Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land; Patty Limerick, professor of history; and Gregor McGregor, professor of environmental studies, for a presentation and panel titled Land Grants, Extension Service and Institutional Amnesia: The University of Colorado’s Forgotten Origins and Possible Futures.

“Most of us know that the land the Boulder campus sits upon was made available through the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples. What many do not know is that, through the 1875 Enabling Act that authorized Colorado statehood, "the State University” (��) also received 72 sections of land that were taken from tribal nations and likely scattered throughout the West. The leasing or sale of these sections provided critical financial support in the early decades of the university. This forgotten aspect of our origins underscores our obligation not just to the residents of Colorado but also the Native Americans whose mistreatment is intertwined with our legacies of transformative research, education and service.”

Community Engagement Week was made possible with support from various partners and sponsors, including Chancellor Justin Schwartz; Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing; Outreach and Community Engagement; Division of Continuing Education; Office of Faculty Affairs; Research and Innovation Office; Center for Teaching and Learning; and Service Learning and Impact in Community Engagement.

PACES is part of Outreach and Community Engagement in the Chancellor’s Office. Visit colorado.edu/paces for more information about resources available for engaged scholars at �� Boulder.

Through panels, workshops and a poster showcase, attendees of �� Boulder's first ever Community Engagement Week shared experiences, networked and built their knowledge and skills for conducting community engagement.

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An Experiential Approach to SPAN 4215, Spanish in the United States

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:59:03 +0000

An Experiential Approach to SPAN 4215, Spanish in the United States Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 02/25/2026 - 10:59

Tracy Quan

Tracy Quan is a member of the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator Faculty Cohort (The Accelerator). The Accelerator supports �� Boulder faculty members with the design of undergraduate courses that integrate community-engaged, experiential learning partnerships.

SPAN 4215: Spanish in the United States is a course that addresses the experiences and perceptions of Spanish speakers and Latines/Hispanics in this country from historic, sociopolitical and linguistic perspectives. In my opinion, it is impossible to talk about Spanish in this country without talking about immigration because Spanish is often used to characterize individuals as “undocumented,” “foreign” and “un-American.” I have taught SPAN 4215 countless times, but in 2025, it felt imperative to bring in a human element to the teaching of immigration and other course topics. I wanted my students to explore the (in)humanity behind what was going on, while asking students to use their Spanish language abilities in purposeful ways.

Community Partner Collaboration

In Fall 2025, I began a collaboration with Cartas de Paz, a project managed by Casa de Paz (an Aurora-based nonprofit that supports detained immigrants). My students wrote a series of four letters in Spanish to individuals detained in ICE detention centers over the course of a semester. This included drafting and peer review sessions, along with reflections.

Benefits and Challenges

“Aprendí más sobre las vidas de las personas en los detention centers y sus desafíos.” (‘I learned more about the lives of people in detention centers and their challenges.’)

“Las cartas son una buena manera para practicar la empatía y tratar de entender una situación que no he experimentado.” (‘The letters are a good way to practice empathy and to try to understand a situation that I haven’t experienced.’)

Student quotes from SPAN 4215, in Fall 2025

Many of my students have expressed that they like this project because:

They get to use Spanish for a real purpose,

They are contributing something positive in regard to US immigration, and

Many are interested in pursuing work/further study in law and/or immigration.

However, the collaboration was also challenging because students didn’t always know what to write or what to say. Sometimes they didn’t get responses, or their pen pals would change a lot throughout the semester because the person would be released. Sitting with this discomfort became part of the learning process as my class and I tried to understand the uncertainty of detention and the privilege of our situations, as reflected in the earlier student quotes.

Multimodal Student Reflection

This semester I am teaching SPAN 4215 again and continuing to collaborate with Cartas de Paz. Based on student ideas from last semester, this semester I have spaced out the letters more to facilitate responses. I have also thought of ways to encourage student reflection that uses different modalities. For example, students individually audio record reflections about connections and challenges from the letter writing, then, during class, they do in-person written reflections followed by small- and large- group discussions using classmates’ written responses as conversation starters.

Students as Co-designers in the Learning Experience

One of the biggest take-aways from my participation in the weeklong Accelerator is to ask students for ideas on how to improve the learning experience. As such, I asked my students last semester how we could deal with some of the challenges they faced, and they gave me the wonderful idea of having students who received replies share what they learned so that the class, as a whole, can feel like they are learning regardless of whether they received a response or not from their pen pal. I will be trying this idea out, and I have a feeling it will foster classroom community and create a sense of collective learning.

Tracy Quan, PhD (she, ella) (Accelerator cohort 2025–2026)
Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics
Department of Spanish & Portuguese, University of Colorado Boulder
tracy.quan@colorado.edu | www.tracyquan.weebly.com

Tracy Quan is a member of the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator Faculty Cohort, which supports �� Boulder faculty members in the design of undergraduate courses that integrate community-engaged, experiential learning partnerships.

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Sundance Film Festival announces dates for 2027

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:42:37 +0000

Sundance Film Festival announces dates for 2027 Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 02/24/2026 - 11:42

The Sundance Film Festival is set to make its Boulder debut in January 2027. Find out the exact dates and how to stay connected as planning progresses.

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�� Boulder celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:02:14 +0000

�� Boulder celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 02/04/2026 - 12:02

�� Boulder held its first Community Engagement Week, exploring ways to deepen, extend public outreach moving forward

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Taking the Bard "Down Under"

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 18:01:15 +0000

Taking the Bard "Down Under" Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 12/09/2025 - 11:01

Gretchen Minekime

Amanda Giguere, Colorado Shakespeare Festival Director of Outreach, recently traveled to Australia as a featured guest of the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative at the University of Melbourne. Giguere was invited to share research about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program (a collaboration between the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF), the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and the Department of Theatre and Dance), and to discuss her new book: Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook for Educators (University Press of Colorado, 2025).

During her week in Australia, Giguere delivered an interactive keynote, featuring professional actors from Melbourne, participated in a documentary video series, On Humanities, and conducted training sessions at the University of Melbourne and at Bell Shakespeare (Australia’s leading Shakespeare theatre). While in Sydney, Giguere met with Bell Shakespeare leadership about CSF’s innovative project, and hopes that the work which originated at �� Boulder can impact people in Australia.

“I wrote the book about Shakespeare & Violence Prevention so other educators could learn from what we’ve done here in Colorado,” said Giguere. “It’s so inspiring to hear, when I share this work with people outside of Colorado, that it resonates with others in meaningful ways.”

For more information about Giguere’s new book: https://upcolorado.com/university-of-wyoming-press/item/6749-shakespeare-violence-prevention

For more information about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program, currently touring Colorado’s K-12 schools: https://cupresents.org/performance/10050/shakespeare/csf-schools/

Amanda Giguere, Colorado Shakespeare Festival Director of Outreach, recently traveled to Australia as a featured guest of the University of Melbourne to share research about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program.

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We are Water: How a Colorado Community is Reimagining its Relationship with Water

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 22:15:47 +0000

We are Water: How a Colorado Community is Reimagining its Relationship with Water Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 12/08/2025 - 15:15

Elle Moscinski

For so many of us, when we turn on the faucet to our sink or shower, fresh, potable water comes out. We might take it for granted, and we rely on it deeply for drinking, cooking, washing, and sustaining our daily routines. Maybe we don’t question whether it will run out or, often, where it comes from. Water is one of the most critical resources for life, but for many in the Four Corners – the region where NM, CO, AZ, and UT meet – it is not a guaranteed resource. Access varies widely, and the realities of drought, agriculture and infrastructure shape how communities live.

A new exhibit devoted to water issues recently opened at the Alamosa Public Library in Southwestern Colorado. Tory Nau, program manager of We are Water, facilitated the co-creation of the exhibit with Alamosa community members. We are Water is a National Science Foundation funded education project within the Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE) at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) and a grant recipient of �� Boulder’s Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship. The project focuses on place-based education and storytelling to bring together multi-generational audiences to learn and share about water in their community. It encourages people to explore the past, present and future of their water and to bring their own experiences and cultural perspectives to the conversation.

Previously, We are Water used a traveling exhibit to visit rural libraries in the Four Corners Region. Now, the project focuses on co-creating community exhibits that will be permanently installed in communities, like the one in Alamosa. This bilingual exhibit is comprised of two parts, an interactive 3D printed topographic model of the Rio Grande Watershed that features various water locations and an interactive informational wall display. �� Boulder students built the exhibit, which showcases the work of local artists Jocelyn Catterson and Ryan Michelle Scavo.

With Alamosa’s permanent exhibit, residents will be able to return and keep learning about water in the San Luis Valley. The We are Water team hopes to raise awareness of water as a more critical, complex subject and to get people thinking about their water sources. For example, aquifers are often depicted online as underground lakes. However, they are actually made up from many pockets of water covered in rocks, sand and gravel and are not constantly accessible bodies of water.

The installation is the result of a collaborative effort between We are Water and local libraries, researchers, artists and Alamosa community members. Creating the exhibit started with a large listening session, supported by the library with hopes of reaching a variety of voices in the community. Participants discussed their questions, concerns and hopes for water in their community.

“Our approach with this project wasn’t to come in and educate people about water policy,” said Nau. “It was more about creating a space for people to come together to connect and share stories, perspectives, and experiences about water.”

The project merges art and science, Western and Indigenous worldviews, university researchers and local libraries and formal and informal education—an approach that creates accessible spaces where community member’s stories are shared and recorded, and people learn together in everyday settings.

“I think [informal learning] is very powerful,” said Nau. “Learning can happen anywhere, and some of the best learning happens outside of a classroom. And, I say that as a teacher.”

Issues of water are complex and critical. Water sustains every living thing, yet water policy is challenging when some communities face shrinking supplies, competing uses or changes caused by invasive species and drought. Some communities in the Four Corners Region do not have access to running water. Additionally, cultural perspectives on water vary. By using storytelling, We are Water’s approach encourages people to share personal experiences, listen to one another’s histories and understand how others see valuable natural resources.

Nau hopes that audiences take away curiosity and awareness about water. She hopes that people will begin to think critically about where their water comes from—the journey from source to tap. She hopes that people will make broader connections to climate change, the needs of their communities and all the ways in which we are connected by water.

A new exhibit from We Are Water at the Alamosa Public Library focuses on place-based education and storytelling to bring together multi-generational audiences to learn and share about water in their community.

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Announcing Fall 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 22:37:45 +0000

Announcing Fall 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 11/19/2025 - 15:37

From an engaging public event on local history in Leadville, CO to addressing environmental and climate hazards in prisons and jails, grantees received more than $47,000 for their community-engaged scholarship projects. See the full list of grantees below.

Tier 1 Fall 2025 Recipients

Chords of Esperanza: Queering Biliteracy, Centering Justicia
Bethy Leonardi, Associate Professor
Program in Educational Foundation, Policies and Practice

Investigating Hurricane Preparedness Among the U.S. Bangladeshi Diaspora
Musabber Ali Chisty, PhD Student
Department of Sociology

Leadville Public Event: Solar Films and Mining History
Hannah Rose Shell, Associate Professor
Department of Art & Art History

Meet a Research Mentor Fair
Steven Denham, High School Programs Manager
�� Science Discovery

Queer Israeli Diasporic Imaginations
Asher Firestone, PhD Student
Department of Ethnic Studies

Tier 2 Fall 2025 Recipients

Achieving Sustainability in the Vineyards II HOA
Gregor MacGregor, Assistant Teaching Professor
Masters of the Environment

Community Advisory Board (CAB) Pilot
Liz Corrado, PhD Student
Department of Environmental Studies

Counterstories and Freedom Dreams of Black Manual Alumni
Kelly Mitchell, PhD Student
Program in Learning Sciences and Human Development

Further Engaging Colorado K-14 Educators in Global Perspectives
Hannah Palustre, Outreach Coordinator
Center for Asian Studies

Indigenous Peoples & the United Nations: Diplomacy in Practice
Kristen Carpenter, Distinguished Professor
American Indian Law Clinic

Partnering with All Roads to Understand NSL Turnaways
Azza Kamal, Teaching Associate Professor
Environmental Design Program

Research-Practice Partnership Examining Social Media and Mental Health
Alicia Sepulveda, Research Associate
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Water and Drought Resilience Community Events
Tory Nau, We Are Water Program Manager
CIRES Center for Education, Engagement and Evaulation

From hosting a community event in Leadville, CO to addressing environmental and climate hazards in prisons and jails, grantees received more than $47,000 for their community-engaged scholarship projects.

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Faces of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Gregor MacGregor

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:30:05 +0000

Faces of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Gregor MacGregor Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 11/19/2025 - 12:30

Gretchen Minekime

Gregor MacGregor gets bored if he sits behind a desk for too long. His energy seems boundless. That’s key because MacGregor’s interests are vast, and his personal ethos about service transcends the personal and professional.

When were you introduced to the practice of community-engaged scholarship?

I came to Colorado Law—supported by the Army—knowing I wanted to work with water law and farmers. At orientation, I learned about the Acequia Assistance Project, which was directed then by Professor Sarah Krakoff. I volunteered with the project during my first year, and in my second year I became the project's student leader. This was my introduction to engaged scholarship. I was hooked.

You were involved in the Acequia Assistance Project for a long time. What was your work and what was its influence on you?

Law students in the Acequia Project provide pro bono legal services to farmers and landowners in rural Colorado regarding their land and water rights. As a student, I provided approximately 700 hours of service in the San Luis Valley—learning about the law and making connections which I still have today.

One of my cases, which lasted the entirety of law school, was a title search and review for approximately 30 properties on the Montez Ditch in the town of San Luis. We completed our title opinion and showed that our clients owned those water rights and could move ahead with ditch improvements to use the water and beautify downtown. My proudest moment during law school was when our client shook my hand and told me that the work would not have been done without our help. They couldn’t afford to hire attorneys. I saw an impact on real lives, and I’ve been chasing that high ever since.

What came after graduating from Colorado Law?

My time in school influenced my decision to go into water law. I finished my service in the Army as Fort Carson’s water attorney in Colorado Springs, before joining a private firm for about a year. This was during COVID, and my wife was the communications director for a hospital. So, I needed lots of flexibility to care for our young daughters. I ended up leaving the firm, but I volunteered with the Colorado Supreme Court to keep up my chops. Then, Professor Krakoff moved to the Department of the Interior and asked me to come back to Colorado Law to teach and direct the Acequia Project. I deferred a clerkship with the Colorado Supreme Court in Justice Hart’s chambers and came back to �� Boulder.

In 2022, in its 10th year, the Project received the American Bar Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy. The same year, I expanded my role with the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES). I had previously been a grant recipient, but I wanted to learn more about setting up engaged scholarship opportunities. I joined the grants selection committee, and I was selected for the inaugural Community Perspectives faculty cohort. Being part of both exposed me to �� Boulder’s breadth of expertise and resources. Community Perspectives helped me learn about initiating relationships with community partners, and the program’s focus was Southeast Colorado—a potential new area for my water work and, coincidentally, where I have extended family. I managed to join the second cohort as an alumnus—both continuing my own learning and sharing my experience with the new folks.

What is your current portfolio of engaged scholarship projects?

I now lead the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Specialization in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program. Among my duties, I advise 50 students in the specialization and directly advise three capstone project teams—most of which are rooted in community engagement. Some of the capstone projects have also received PACES grants.

I also sit on the Water Court Committee of the Colorado Supreme Court, and I just finished a video series featuring each of the water court officials for self-represented litigants. The videos are intended to guide people who need to go through the water court process but who can’t afford legal representation.

And, I’ve doubled down on serving with PACES and expanding engaged scholarship on campus.

Tell us about your new roles with PACES and your goals.

So, I’ve been involved with PACES one way or another since 2016. With Community Perspectives evolving into a direct-funding program, I want to help develop relationships around the state, assist community partners with outlining potential projects, and to identify �� colleagues who can work on those projects. As a faculty fellow for rural community-engaged scholarship, I’ll be connecting people and teaching—my favorite kind of role.

This semester I began serving as the chair of the PACES grants committee. The PACES staff runs a tight ship so our faculty members on the committee can focus on bringing the university’s resources into the community. I want our committee’s members to point people to PACES for support of continuing work or new work because communities, faculty members and students all benefit from working together. Really, to me, the big opportunity is educating students about how community engagement can be a part of their career or simply bringing the value of service forward in their lives.

Why are you dedicated to engaged scholarship?

Gregor and another foreign volunteer portion and shape some of the 1200 rolls provided daily by Hell’s Kitchen.

It comes down to serving. It’s why I joined the military. The idea of having resources and knowledge that I can apply directly to impact the lives of others feels like a call to action. That’s not always the case in academia; the impact is often more indirect. But, when you work in a community that needs something, you see the immediate impact for people. It’s what I’m driven to do.

An Army buddy and I went to Ukraine in 2024 with a food aid organization—a continuation of volunteer work I do here in Colorado. I saw how the money we raised stretched to feed people and replace broken kitchen equipment. We delivered food, medicine, clothes and other supplies to villages outside of Kharkiv that, due to the war, were more isolated and impoverished than before. Even a small amount of work can go a long way.

�� Boulder has resources, expertise and students who are willing and able. We can help activate them to a good end, which is what real service is. When I look at the history and mission of �� Bolder, service has to be part of that mission. We are rooted in a place. We can apply our skills and resources to improve our state. It’s a major component of what higher education should and can be.

Parting thoughts?

I hope people will think about how they can contribute to public and community-engaged scholarship. We get wrapped up in other aspects of our jobs, and it can be difficult to see how our expertise can be applied, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. I hope my work already illustrates how it can happen and why it matters. We can make a big difference person-by-person and community-by-community; it’s not always about changing how the world works.

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Members of the Santistevan Ditch and students work to repair a headgate on the Purgatoire River outside of Trinidad.

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Members of the Santistevan Ditch and students work to repair a headgate on the Purgatoire River outside of Trinidad.

�� Boulder professor develops more accessible way for families to experience planetarium shows

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 18:14:15 +0000

�� Boulder professor develops more accessible way for families to experience planetarium shows Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 10/30/2025 - 12:14

Elle Moscinski

Fiske Planetarium at the University of Colorado Boulder has begun hosting special events catering to families with young children who have sensory needs. Dubbed Sensory-Friendly Sundays, those attending will find staff passing out blankets and headphones, kids clutching stuffed animals, interactive exhibits, and a relaxed, welcoming environment. The adapted show format provides an accessible space for kids to learn more about the universe and their place within it.

Professor Ann-Marie Madigan, associate professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, is the program’s creator. Her expertise is with gravitational dynamics, including the motions of stars around supermassive black holes, and planets orbiting white dwarfs. Madigan first found inspiration for the program at the World of Wonder Museum in Lafayette, CO. She noticed how beneficial and comfortable their monthly sensory-friendly day was for her young daughter.

“I really appreciated those events, and my daughter really enjoyed them,” said Madigan. “I wondered how to bring something similar to the greater Boulder community, and I thought it would be really nice to combine my day job as an astronomer with something I really appreciate in my outside life.”

Sensory-Friendly Sundays first started in fall of 2024 with a grant from the Office of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES). Two pilot events were hosted with overwhelming success—immediately exceeding the registration cap of 100 people. This semester, a second more substantial grant is enabling monthly events and a broader audience, reaching children ages 3 to 12.

Typical planetarium shows can sometimes be overwhelming or stressful. The planetarium dome can have loud, startling noises or explosive light displays. Some families may not feel comfortable bringing their kids for fear of the experience being too dysregulating and intense. Sensory-Friendly Sundays are designed to provide a safe space for kids where they can be especially supported and can calm down in a quiet environment.

Fiske’s house rules are more relaxed on Sensory-Friendly Sundays; the planetarium dome always has open doors so families and kids can come and go as needed if they become overwhelmed. Madigan also noted how stressful it can be for parents to worry about their children being disruptive. Often, if parents fear that they won’t be able to stay the entire time, they will not come at all, because they don’t wish to interrupt the show. Having open doors helps to alleviate those worries.

In addition, Sensory-Friendly Sundays offer support through staffing and equipment. The program provides trained onsite support from student volunteers from the Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, as well as professional therapists. Fiske staff members have been educated about neurodiversity and sensory overwhelm and coached how to engage appropriately with kids who may have special needs. Inside the dome, the lights are not completely dimmed, and the noise level is lowered. There are materials to help kids remain calm and engaged: tables with crafts, a gravity floor, and lots of textured materials meant to be touched, such as a large 3D model of the lunar surface. Noise-cancelling headphones, blankets and stuffed animals are available to check out.

As the program has evolved, so have the activities inside the dome. �� Boulder undergraduate Hunter Pratt led a dome activity exploring how light interacts with color and how both animals and astronomers see the universe in different wavelengths.

To run this program effectively, Madigan reached out to the Fiske Planetarium staff, including the director, Professor John Keller. She worked with the Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic and sought feedback from members of the Autism Society of Boulder County. It was tough logistically; for example, making sure all the therapists were properly compensated and that there were enough volunteers.

“It was a little scary to open the doors for the first time,” said Madigan. “But, after the first event, everything was more relaxed ... because all we’re doing here is making this space much more available and accessible, for free, for families with kids who have sensory processing disorders, and they really loved it.”

Madigan is delighted that this program will be an ongoing, supportive event for the broader Boulder community. So far, her favorite part is getting to see kids run around as their authentic selves and be excited about space. Sensory-Friendly Sundays will hopefully continue to serve families and connect them with astronomy.

“Astronomy is special, because it is so fundamental and meaningful. It’s about what we are doing here and how it all came to be,” shared Madigan. "Kids are fascinated with space, planets and black holes. It feels right to make sure that all kids can actually engage with it.”

Learn more about Sensory Sundays on Fiske’s Planetarium’s website.

Designed in collaboration with the Autism Society of Boulder County, Fiske Planetarium hosts a monthly series of free sensory-friendly experiences intended for children with autism spectrum and sensory processing disorders.

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Featured II

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

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Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement

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An Experiential Approach to SPAN 4215, Spanish in the United States

Community Partner Collaboration

Benefits and Challenges

Student quotes from SPAN 4215, in Fall 2025

Multimodal Student Reflection

Students as Co-designers in the Learning Experience

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Sundance Film Festival announces dates for 2027

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���������� Boulder celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action

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Taking the Bard "Down Under"

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We are Water: How a Colorado Community is Reimagining its Relationship with Water

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Announcing Fall 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients

Tier 1 Fall 2025 Recipients

Tier 2 Fall 2025 Recipients

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Faces of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Gregor MacGregor

When were you introduced to the practice of community-engaged scholarship?

You were involved in the Acequia Assistance Project for a long time. What was your work and what was its influence on you?

What came after graduating from Colorado Law?

What is your current portfolio of engaged scholarship projects?

Tell us about your new roles with PACES and your goals.

Why are you dedicated to engaged scholarship?

Parting thoughts?

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���������� Boulder professor develops more accessible way for families to experience planetarium shows

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�� Boulder celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action

�� Boulder professor develops more accessible way for families to experience planetarium shows