Particle Physics Outreach @Birmingham

http://www.ep.ph.bham.ac.uk/index.php?page=general/outreach/index

Inspiring minds,Shaping the future.

Lynne Long, Schools Liaison Officer, The School of Physics & Astronomy& Institute of Physics (IOP) Teacher Network Coordinator in the West Midlands

About what I do………..

• I organise activities and events for students & teachers - on the University campus - and out in schools, both locally and nationally• As well as working with the IOP in the UK to develop a supportive teacher

network to share and disseminate interesting ideas & good practise

• http://www.ph.bham.ac.uk/schools/

Particle Physics is currently of great interest to teachers and students in the UK….

• Because it has had coverage in the media – first beam in September 2008 etc

• And because particle physics concepts now form part of the core curriculum at A LevelY9 poster competition 2007

I give talks out in around 50 different schools per year – reaching 3000-4000

students 11-18yrs• And particle physics is a very popular topic

to include……

Pupils of all ages in secondary schools are captured by the statistics of the

LHC………

• 27 km circumference – A BIG EXPERIMENT!• Each proton goes around the 27km ring over

11,000 times a second.• Energy of proton beam in LHC > 0.3 GJ (family

car travelling at 1000 mph)• Energy stored in magnets > 1 GJ• Super-conducting magnets cooled to ~ 1.9 K

(colder than Outer Space).

And the topic can be used to talk about curriculum physics concepts

and bring them to life……

• Electric& magnetic field theory

- Electromagnets & superconductors

- Forces on charged particles, Flemming’s LHR

• Mass-energy equivalence• Even special relativity etc

Specialist talks around Particle Physics are very popular…

• Many of the research group at Birmingham give such talks as part of the schools evening lecture programme, masterclass days etc, as well as out in schools

• Feedback is very positive and demand is increasing

Example slidele

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Nature supplies us with two extra families that are very much heavier:

We don’t know why!

Spark Chamber demos in schools…

• Dr John Wilson visits 20-30 different schools per year, taking out the spark chamber to demonstrate cosmic rays and talk about particle detection

• Feedback is excellent – and regular repeat bookings are made!

Specialist Particle Physics Masterclass days

• Are held several times per year – the big event around Easter time attracting 100+ local students and teachers

The whole group get involved, giving talks and running discussion and workshop groups

Live video links to CERN have proved particularly popular

Some quotes from 2009:• The live link was amazing

to see people working there and what it actually looks like

• The link with CERN added relevance

School competitions organised 2006-2009

•In recent years school students from all over the UK have been invited to prepare particle physics presentations which are fun and inspiring to other pupils of various ages

•Finalists have been invited onto campus to showcase their talks

•BIG prizes have been awarded to finance inspiring trips to CERN

Map to show schools entered 2008 cascade competition

Some finalists……..

September 10th – 2008 –First proton beam injected

Excited post Graduates explainProgress on the day to A level students from invited schools

Birmingham hosts a live video conference to the ATLAS control

room

And our competition winners were there at CERN!!

They were able to describe their feelings to the students here in Birmingham – “exciting and surreal!”

• Short videos/animations to use in the classroom

• Particle physics FOR students

……………….BY students

And our latest schools competition…

An exciting Opportunity to….Enhance your Physics studies Develop Key Communication Skills

Make personal links with Research staff at a leading University Win prize money

New Competition for 2008-9 CONCEPT VIDEOS/ANIMATIONS for the classroom

Insights into Particle Physics - for students by students STFC

What is involved? Groups of up to 4 A Level or GCSE students are invited, with support from their teachers, to prepare a - short, but interesting & stimulating, video clip or computer animation relating to particle physics - lasting up to 4 minutes - aimed at a particular & specified age group (your choice!)

The entries will then be judged by a team from the University – Particle Physics experts and teachers - Prizes of £300 will be awarded for up to the best 5 entries submitted.

Prize winners will be invited to an event at the University to collect their prizes – in June/July 2009 - Lunch and discussions with Particle Physics researchers & students

Winning videos and animations will be uploaded onto the web and schools will be invited to use them to introduce, illustrate or summarise concepts in the classroom Please see enclosed information sheet for details of competition rules and procedures.

,

IF YOUR SCHOOL IS INTERESTED IN TAKING PART…………………….

PLEASE RETURN THE ENCLOSED FORM ASAP!!

Your video / animation could be on one of the following topics:

or come up with your own question!!

In conclusion……..

• Students and teachers are very interested in making links with University departments/research groups

• Exciting news of big experiments linked to school curriculum concepts are particularly well received – can prove inspiring and encourage students to look further

• Post graduate and undergraduate role models are appreciated

• Students/teachers in schools gain a lot from the experience –

• …. and so do the researchers and academics!