NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The U.S. Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab invites families, groups and classes to sign up now for a summer 2010 or school year 2010-2011 Physics Fest.
Seating is still available for the Physics Fests scheduled for June 23 and Aug. 10. Physics Fest events for the 2010-2011 school year are scheduled periodically from Oct. 7 through May 11, 2011. Dates are posted at: http://education.jlab.org/physicsfest/index.php. Advance reservations are required for all events as seating is limited.
A Physics Fest is a two-hour presentation (10 a.m.-noon) that includes an interactive summary of the research conducted at Jefferson Lab and demonstrates some of the technology used at the lab to conduct experiments. Highlights of the presentation include the popular Deep Freeze (cryogenics), Hot Stuff (plasmas) and hair-raising Electrostatics demonstrations.
Parents, teachers and students planning to attend a Physics Fest may wish to download the Physics Fest Classroom Activity Pack from JLab's Physics Fest website. The pdf document contains general information about Jefferson Lab, the anatomy of atoms, a vocabulary list with related games and puzzles, and data sheets and activities that can be used before, during and after attending a Physics Fest. The Activity Pack is about 2.1 MB in size, and can be downloaded with Adobe Reader software. The materials are written at the sixth-grade reading level.
Individual students and groups must be accompanied for the duration of the event by teachers, parents or authorized adult escorts. These free events take place in the CEBAF Center auditorium located at 12000 Jefferson Ave., Newport News. Use the Science Education contact information on the Physics Fest webpage to request reservations.
For security purposes everyone over 16 is asked to carry a photo I.D. Security guards may inspect vehicles, book bags, etc. Visit JLab's Physics Fest webpage for reservation contact information and directions: http://education.jlab.org/physicsfest/index.php.
Jefferson Lab is a physics research laboratory studying quarks and gluons – the particles making up the protons and neutrons found in the nucleus of the atom. It is part of the Department of Energy's national laboratory system.