STEM

Browse Fermilab’s many online resources to dive into the wonderful world of particle physics.

In an educational turning of the tables, first- through fifth-graders evaluated Fermilab scientists’ abilities to illuminate and educate at their school’s first reverse science fair. Three competing groups of scientists demoed neutrino detection, muon precession and particle acceleration in fun, accessible ways, and the elementary school students got to decide who received the blue ribbon.

Science Storytellers brings together two groups of innately curious individuals: scientists and children. In the Science Storytellers program, kids act as science journalists interviewing real-life scientists. Afterward, they share what they learned. Research shows that transmitting scientific knowledge to the public is important, but actually shifting someone’s opinions requires engaging with them in a two-way dialogue and treating them as a whole, complicated person with knowledge, experiences and influences of their own.

Particle physics might seem too complex for young children, but educators are finding enthusiasm and understanding even among the “Sesame Street” set.

From Daily North Shore, Nov. 12, 2019: New Trier Township High School juniors Paul Graham and Ellie Winkler have spent the past year working with a team of 15 other Chicago-area high school students and teachers to propose, design, build and analyze a unique high-energy physics experiment for Fermilab.

The Big Bang Science Fair brings science communication and outreach to an arts festival in Rhode Island. The event is filled with presentations, workshops and hands-on activities covering a wide range of scientific disciplines. It makes its second appearance later this month.

Ketevan Akhobadze moved to Fermilab from the country of Georgia and found a new home. She now creates exhibits as a tool to introduce the public to the exciting science done at Fermilab.

From SDPB Radio’s “In the Moment: Innovation,” July 26, 2019: In this 18-minute radio piece, Fermilab Director Nigel Lockyer discusses experimental particle physics, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and the partnership with the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota.

From Kane County Chronicle, May 6, 2019: St. Charles East High School sophomore Emma Santos is one of 25 students selected to participate in Fermilab’s six-week paid summer internship program. The TARGET program incorporates both classroom and work experiences that support the science conducted at Fermilab.

Physics professor Jason Nordhaus is working to reduce barriers to STEM for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, who face numerous barriers when trying to study technical STEM fields like physics. Physicists like Nordhaus are trying to change all that with specialized programs, classes and interpreter training, all aimed at reducing barriers in STEM.