Thirty years of science outreach at the University of Otago

Service to the community is one of the three major goals of New Zealand’s universities, the others being advancement of knowledge through research and higher education through teaching. The University of Otago has been taking science to the community for over thirty years. Over that time, strong programmes of outreach to school students and the general public have developed. School programmes, such as Hands-on Science, Science Wānanga and the Advanced School Sciences Academy, present science in accessible and exciting ways and encourage careers in science. This paper outlines the history of science outreach at the University of Otago.