In the United States there has been a move afoot to try to stimulate federally funded investigators to explore meaningful ways of communicating their scientific activities through educational outreach programs. The goal is to help improve the quality of mathematics and science education in both early and secondary education. Dr Rita Colwell, the current Director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF), feels strongly that the time has come for higher education to do its part to help improve precollege science education, a persistent problem in the United States and many other industrialized countries. After all, institutions of higher education stand to benefit by seeing students enter college with sound fundamental science skills, and the taxpayers, who ultimately fund national science programs, benefit from an economy fuelled by both renewed and improved scientific talent.