It was likely the biggest Family Open House ever at Fermilab. With an estimated 3,700 attendees, the Feb. 12 event attracted enough people to fill the atrium, One West and Ramsey Auditorium.
The annual event featured tours of both Remote Operation Centers, the Fermilab Art Gallery, the Linac and the Main Control Room, as well as driving tours around the Fermilab site. Also featured were screenings of short films in the 15th-floor theater and the always popular Mr. Freeze’s Cryogenic Show. A new demonstration, Dynamic Forces, took place in One West, and attendees even got to take a virtual tour of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, home of the future DUNE far detector.
The atrium provided plenty of opportunities to learn physics concepts, with science demonstrations about magnetism, gravity and electricity.
The event was made possible by an anonymous donor to the nonprofit organization Fermilab Friends for Science Education.
Family Open House 2017
Crowds throng in front of the merchandise table. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Brendan Casey orients Open House attendees to Fermilab. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Children work together
to find the center of mass of various objects. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Joel Mousseau takes an Open House attendee on a virtual tour of a neutrino detector. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Did you know you can power simple cars using balloons? You can! Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
A student from Quincy Notre Dame High School in Quincy, Illinois, demonstrates how
superconducting material will levitate above magnets. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Children attempt to make as many structures as they can while following the same kinds of rules particles use to
combine. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Jerry Zimmerman puts on his usual spectacular Mr. Freeze show. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Surprise! Charges transfer. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
It's the dynamic duo, Andrew Dalesandro and Jamie Santucci, leading the Dynamic Forces presentation in One West. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
How much fun are iron filings? Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
An estimated 3,700 people attended this year's Family Open House. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Electricity and magnetism are two sides of the same coin. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Even grown-ups learn about science during the Family Open House. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
A student tries to navigate a 3D maze without completing an electrical circuit. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
It's a race against a rolling object. Photo: Reidar Hahn
Family Open House 2017
Kids learn science in ROC West. Photo: Reidar Hahn
