Lessons Learned

Advertising: Meet People Where They Already Are

Successful outreach does not require expensive marketing. It requires visibility in the spaces your community already uses. Our most effective tools have been:

• A dedicated Facebook page where we post updates

• Join and share to local Facebook groups, which reach parents, teachers, and community members quickly

• Posters around town and postcards for nearby schools

• Contacting local newspapers and radio stations

• Participating in community events such as the fair parade, where we handed out things with event information

• A simple, free website that keeps all details up to date

What we have learned:
You do not need a large advertising budget. Consistency, visibility, and engagement across many small channels are enough.

Exhibitors and Volunteers: Build Relationships, Not Just a Roster

Attracting exhibitors can become more difficult over time, as many decline due to travel, budget, or scheduling constraints. We recruit volunteers and exhibitors through personal networks, email, and local organizations, including non-profits and STEM departments across Kansas. Despite this, our events typically feature around ten groups and forty to sixty volunteers each year. Family and local friends are our most dependable support, handling tasks such as registration, managing the book table, coordinating prize drawings, and taking photos. To show appreciation for all our volunteers, we provide decent lunch with soda, chips, full size candy bars, and a coffee bar.

After each event, within a day we send thank-you emails for our out of town exhibitors with photos and attendance statistics. This way they can use anything they need to report back to their groups, or make their own social media posts or newsletter articles. For local volunteers, we include handwritten notes to recognize their contributions. 

Lessons learned:

• Personal connections are more effective than cold outreach.

• Non-scientist volunteers are essential for smooth operations.

• Returning exhibitors provide stability and continuity, even if new participants are limited.

Budget and Sustainability: Make Every Dollar and Activity Count 

Our annual grant ranges from $2,500 to $3,500, with most funds going toward venue rental, lunch for our volunteers, books, and prizes, and a significant portion supporting reusable materials. To reduce costs, we store items in family homes rather than renting storage, keeping the cost per attendee around $5 to $8, not including exhibitor expenses.

As attendance has grown, our prize system has evolved. In the early years, we held a drawing for about 100 higher-value prizes, which worked well for groups under 200 children. With more than 300 children attending, we changed our system so every participant now receives a prize, while still drawing to determine whether they receive a lower-cost item or one of the few higher-quality prizes.

We also include many activities designed for reuse and low supervision. Popular independent activities include sensory bins, puzzles, blocks, Play-Doh, and floor puzzles. We incorporate a literacy component by giving every attendee a gently used STEM book sourced from library sales, garage sales, and thrift stores, keeping costs low and supporting reuse.

Lessons learned:

• Small budgets can achieve large impact when funds are focused on long-term materials.

• Prize systems should scale with attendance size.

• Reusable activities make the event more sustainable from year to year while also easing the burden on event coordinators 

• Book giveaways extend the event’s impact beyond the festival.

Quality Activities for Everyone: Plan for Accessibility, Inclusion, and Adaptability

We host the festival in an ADA-accessible venue, which is not always available in rural regions.

Our booth layout supports wheelchair users, people with mobility needs, and families with strollers. Tables are spaced widely, seating is available, and pathways are easy to navigate.

Activities are designed so they can be adapted for different ages and skill levels. Examples include sensory bins, mineral identification, Mars scavenger hunts, robotics activities, and remote-controlled rovers. Adults are always welcome to participate as well, and often learn new information alongside their children. Sometimes, the adults have more fun than the kids!

People are drawn to tactile, hands-on activities. They do not want to simply look at an exhibit, and digital experiences alone do not always provide the same level of engagement. One of our exhibitors discovered that, even though he brought high-tech, hands-on equipment, a much simpler activity generated more engagement at his booth. Visitors were more interested in interacting with him and having a personal conversation than being entertained by another screen.

We also try and translate activity materials into Spanish and also give away free Spanish language books.

Lessons Learned: 

• Hands-on activities appeal to a wide range of ages and can create more meaningful interactions than high-tech experiences alone. 

• Providing materials in multiple languages can help us reach and engage a broader audience.

Flexibility: Always Have a Backup Plan

Even the best planned outreach event will experience unexpected changes. We have had volunteers cancel shortly before the event and exhibitors withdraw because of illness or emergencies.

To stay prepared, we maintain float volunteers who can jump in at a moment's notice, keep table layouts flexible, and have backup activities that can fill empty spaces.

It is also important to build a well trusted team or group of volunteers that can use good judgment and take initiative. Volunteers should feel empowered to make small decisions, solve problems as they arise without needing to ask for permission every time. This keeps the event running smoothly. 

Lessons Learned:

• Most issues remain invisible to attendees if the team adjusts quietly and quickly.

• The goal is not perfect execution. The goal is a positive experience for the community.

A Typical Rocks and Rockets Event:

 
Upon arrival, visitors are welcomed at registration, where they sign in with just last name, number of people in group, and what town they drove from. This is so we can count the numbers of people who attended, and how far people are willing to travel for the event. At the registration booth, the kids also receive a door prize ticket and can take fun photos at the adjacent photo booth. Nearby, a table offers free posters, stickers, pencils, and other items generously donated to Rocks & Rockets each year.

North Gym
In the North Gym, attendees can explore two giant 25’ x 25’ Mars maps provided by the ShareSpace Foundation, either by walking in socks or driving remote-controlled rovers. Additional hands-on activities have included planetariums, stomp rockets, an astronaut obstacle course, and other interactive games.

South Gym
The South Gym features the exhibitor booths around the perimeter, as well as the free books booth and the prize table. Exhibitors often provide hands-on learning opportunities, including fossil hunting, mineral detective games, making slime, water stream tables, and more. The center of the gym is dedicated to self-guided activities such as floor puzzles, sensory bins, blocks, Play-Doh, magnetic tiles, and the Little Tykes Space Shuttle.