Introducing fusion awareness to K-12 students and their communities through culturally relevant STEM education enrichment

Fusion energy is poised to be a leading clean energy sector. Several advancements have occurred in recent years, including the first demonstration of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility and the White House Summit on Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy. These milestones signal substantial progress toward fusion energy's commercialization. The mission of Energy for the Common Good is to foster the acceptance of fusion energy by diverse stakeholders prior to its commercialization, with timely impact on mitigating the climate crisis. The greater the degree of fusion energy's acceptance among stakeholders, the more rapidly it can be integrated into the electrical grid, ensuring widespread access to its advantages. Fusion awareness is a fundamental prerequisite for acceptance. One of the primary ways we've sparked fusion awareness is through our Generation Fusion education program, an informal K-12 STEM enrichment after school program. We prioritize students residing in communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. The fusion sector presents a unique opportunity to actively engage and integrate vulnerable communities in its development. We began disseminating fusion awareness to fifth grade elementary school students, the majority of whom had no prior exposure to fusion or other physics concepts. Taking this into consideration, our students obtained understanding about the climate crisis, clean energy, and fusion energy through culturally relevant experiential learning methods including interactive activities, direct engagement with subject matter experts, and project-based learning. Learning about fusion and other clean energy sources has given our students hope for their futures and inspired them to participate in creating solutions. We've found that our students naturally spread their newfound fusion awareness to family, friends, community members, and school district personnel. This prompts communities to learn more about fusion and explore opportunities in this nascent clean energy sector. This session will define cultural relevance and outline optimal approaches to center students and communities. It will address both enhancing fusion awareness and fostering partnerships in informal physics education.