Parents looking for a way to get their children outdoors and for them to have fun with hands-on science activities have an event to add to their calendar. This year’s Family Outdoor Activity Fair at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 26. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required: fair participants need to send an email with the number of children and adults attending the event to edreg@fnal.gov.
The outdoor activity fair will offer more than a dozen activities for children ages 5-12. Older children can make their own sun dial while younger children can identify animal tracks. Everyone also can enjoy a presentation of live birds of prey. Children can explore the wildlife living in ponds and on logs and visit the bison pen to check for new calves.
“Science doesn’t just have to happen in a lab,” said Gail Poisson, event co-organizer. “We want to show parents and their children science is everywhere.”
This is the second year for the fair, which began as a way to help parents get their children excited about science. The event is funded by the Supporting Parents in Advocacy, Reform and Knowledge in Science program.
Fermilab is a Department of Energy national laboratory operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation and helps ensure U.S. world leadership across a broad range of scientific disciplines.
Recommended reading
Teachers take on scientific research through Fermilab’s TRAC program
The Teacher Research Associates program invites educators to Fermilab’s campus to work with Fermilab scientists and engineers using Fermilab equipment and lab spaces for research projects. The application deadline for this year’s program is Feb. 18.
Physics on demand: Fermilab’s annual Family Open House goes virtual Feb. 10-14
The reimagined event will bring five days of family-friendly physics fun from the lab to the living room.
Northern Illinois flourishes as accelerator R&D hub under Fermilab leadership
- accelerator
- accelerator science
- accelerator technology
- Argonne
- Argonne National Laboratory
- education
- Illinois
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Northern Illinois University
- Northwestern University
- University of Chicago
Fermilab and partners in northern Illinois have established the region as a leader in particle accelerator science and technology. Few places in the world boast such a concentrated effort in particle acceleration research, developing and building cutting-edge particle accelerators, and growing an accelerator-focused workforce.