Outreach activities
Outreach events will be organised during the summer with the intent of raising awareness of the Snowmass proceedings and related physics topics. Physicists from the workshop are invited to join colleagues and the public for a live virtual tour of the LIGO Hanford Observatory, a Colliderscope performance near the UW campus, and community outreach events to engage directly with the public in small groups. We are planning a series of events at the Seattle Pacific Science Center, at Ada’s cafe and on the University of Washington, Seattle campus.
At the Pacific Science Center, kids and families will engage with researchers and students of the University of Washington and learn about topics such as Dark Matter, Gravitational Waves or Cosmic Rays. During each session, we will use demonstrations and craft to illustrate the physics concepts behind these phenomenoms.
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| Jelly and laser demo to illustrate gravitational lensing used by physicists to measure the effects of Dark Matter (Image Credit: J Woithe and M Kersting) | Gelatin and marbles to illustrate the wave created by the collision of two black holes (Image Credit: Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech) | Image from a diffusion cloud chamber, a device capable of displaying tracks of charged particles. We will have a cloud chambers for our audience to observe the particle tracks and discuss the various origins of cosmic rays. (Image credit: Nuledo) |
Schedule
| Activity | Venue | Dates | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel discussion | Ada’s cafe | July 16 and July 23 | UW physicists will present their research in short presentations and will participate in a Q&A session with the audience. |
| Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves Demos | PSC Camps | July 19-22, July 26 | Demos on the topics of Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves in the PSC camps |
| LIGO Hanford Observatory live virtual tour | Zoom connection from LHO | July 20 | Join a live virtual tour of the LIGO Hanford Observatory on Zoom |
| Cloud chamber demo | Pacific Science Center | TBD | We will run a Cosmic Rays Exhibit on the main floor of the Pacific Science Center |
| CENPA tours | Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics | August 1 | We have partnered with the UW Youth&Teens programs to organise tours for their engineering camps attendees |
| Physics VR Demos | UW Kane Hall | July 21st at 5pm before the Physics Slam | The UW Physics dept runs a series of VR labs as part as the undergraduate syllabus. Physics slams attendees will have the opportunity to try these VR demos before the slam |
The outreach committee of the LOC is still exploring other opportunities. If you are interested in developing some outreach activities this summer or if you would like to participate to these events as a science communicator, please get in touch with us!