After the morning orientation session, we would like for you to visit the offices of your Congressional Representative and Senators. You may wish to contact your home Congressional Representative in addition to the Representative in the district where you attend school, if they are different. We particularly hope that you contact your home district Representative if you are from one of the smaller states. We tend to have lots of representation from the states with lots of colleges (New York, California, Pennsylvania, etc.), relative to states such as Alaska, Kentucky, etc. Yet many of the representatives of these smaller states are extremely influential in Congress and listen very well to their constituents. 

The time available on April 30th for these visits is approximately 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, after which you will be setting up your poster.  You are responsible for setting up your visits.  A typical visit is short, usually around 15-20 minutes. You can get from one House office building to another in about 10-15 minutes, but allow a little longer to go between the House and Senate buildings. It will not be possible for us to store poster materials in the vicinity of the Capitol this year, so if your poster is too big to carry around with you, you may wish to leave it at the hotel. You can return to the hotel by subway from the Capitol no later than 3 PM to fetch the poster. It will take about an hour for the round trip. This will leave about a half an hour for the set-up. Adjust these times to fit your own needs.

Some tips for your visit:

• Arrive on Time, but be flexible.  Allow plenty of time in between visits, as congressional schedules often change.
• Bring a Camera, and take pictures of your visit.  Send the photos to your Senator or Representative, or their local office via e-mail when you return to campus.  
• Consider publishing a small paragraph about your visit on your department website, or in the school newspaper or departmental newsletter.  Include links to the website of the Senator or Representative.
• Remember to ask permission of the Senator or Representative to use photos of your visit, and tell them where you plan on publishing the information.
• Invite the Senator or Representative to visit your campus.
• Prepare your remarks in advance.
• Attend visits as a research group, with faculty mentors and students alike.

 Note:  Please check the specific street address of the office you are visiting, as there are many office buildings around the Capitol.  If you prefer to take metro, take the red line towards Shady Grove, switch to the Orange or Blue Line towards New Carrollton or Largo Town Center at Metro Center, and exit at Capitol South.  This is only convenient to the offices on the South side of the Capitol.

You will need to draft letters to your Congressional Representative and Senators, inviting them to the poster session and asking for a time when you can meet with them or their staff in their offices. You should follow up a few days later with a phone call to the Washington office to work out a time for the office visit that fits your and their schedules.  Often, students are most successful in setting up appointments by calling.  It is critical that the students and faculty take the time to make these calls.  While you should feel free to compose your own letter, a sample is provided below. For addresses and phone numbers of your Representatives and Senators you may either call Congressional information at (202) 224-3121 or check one of the following websites:

http://www.senate.gov
http://clerkweb.house.gov/members/house.htm

Date
Honorable (Jill Doe)

U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Or

Honorable (John Smith)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Doe (or Representative Smith):

I am pleased to inform you that I have been selected in a national competition sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research to participate in a poster session at the Capitol. This event will feature research conducted by undergraduate students from across the country. My poster will be displayed in B-338, B-339, and B-340 of the Rayburn House Office Building on April 30, 2008 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

As an undergraduate at [XYZ College] in your [state or district, depending on whether you are writing to your Senators or Congressional Representative], I would like to invite you or a member of your staff to attend the poster session. [My faculty mentor, Dr. ABC, will also be present.]

I [We] would also like to explore the possibility of meeting you in your office. I [We] could be available [list the days and hours that you will be available, remembering that you will be at the orientation session until 10:30 AM on April 30th and will be at the poster session from 3:30 onward that same day.]

The Council on Undergraduate Research is a professional society whose mission is to promote the participation of undergraduates in research and to provide faculty with increased opportunities to remain active in research while they use their new knowledge to develop investigative teaching strategies. [XYZ College] also believes that the best way to learn science is by doing it. I would like to share with you my personal story and to thank you for supporting opportunities for undergraduate research through federal programs.

I look forward to meeting you at the poster session and sharing my excitement for research. You may contact me directly at (phone number) or (email address) or (college address). I will call your office next week to confirm a time that I [my faculty mentor and I] can meet with you or your staff.

Sincerely,

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