DAN’S PAPERS
Page 62 August 23, 2013
danspapers.com
Hypothesizing That Science Is Fun? BnL Proves It! By nICHOLAS CHOWSKE
T
he scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have made an astounding discovery: Science can be fun! Don’t believe it? Their Summer Sunday open houses, which culminated earlier this month, proved it. For more than 50 years, Brookhaven National Lab has been inviting families to tour the facility and participate in science exhibits geared toward both children and adults. “People just don’t know exactly what it is we do here, so we use this as an opportunity to introduce them to the laboratory,” said Nora Detweiler, Community Relations Manager. The program consists of four Sundays through July
and August, each focusing on a different feature of the lab, and draws more than 2,000 people each Sunday. “Part of the big draw here, especially lately, relates a little bit to the economy,” Detweiler said. “It’s pretty expensive for families to go out and spend the whole day doing something, and this whole day is free.” More than 300 of the lab’s scientists volunteer each Sunday. “They love being able to talk about their science, and they love talking to the kids and getting them excited and thinking about a future in science,” Detweiler said. “They are very good at talking with the children and bringing it down from a very high level, so that they can understand what it is that they
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do in an easy way.” Families can participate in a number of hands-on demonstrations and exhibits designed to explain basic scientific principles. “We have science shows, we have great science talks featuring the science of the facility, and we have the tours,” she said. “It’s a fun day.” “I have been involved with the Summer Sundays for eight or nine years,” said physicist Dr. Cecilia Sanchez Hanke. “It stretches people’s interest in science, and it’s fun to see how people get engaged. “I think it’s extremely important to tell people what we are doing here,” she said. Sanchez Hanke said people often tell her that the lab is too secretive. “I say, ‘no’—every day we do experiments that may help you tomorrow.” she said. “We are not doing anything secret here; we try to be as open as we can.” Physicist Dr. Juergen Thieme has a more practical reason for opening the lab to the public. “We’re spending a lot of money here,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of science, but it’s taxpayer’s money, and it’s our duty to explain to them what we want to do with it.” Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is a government research facility, is largely funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Summer Sundays culminated with a program dedicated to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC (pronounced “Rick”). “RCIH is our busiest day,” Detweiler said. “We had Howard Gordon from the Atlas Project, and he gave an update on the Higgs.” Scientists at Brookhaven National Lab analyze data from the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, which is working to uncover the Higgs boson, an elementary particle. Though the program is over—and they’re gearing up for next year—there’s always something new and exciting going on at Brookhaven, and Detweiler encourages return trips. “If you’ve been here before, we ask you to come back again, because you never get the same tour guide twice,” she said. “It will be a different scientist and they’ll have a different focus on what they’re studying, so you’ll get a completely different tour, even if you’re going to the same facility.” The lab hosts tours for groups of 10 or more by appointment, as well as public events, lectures and educational programs year round. “The kids have a really good time, and the parents have a good time,” Detweiler said. “We’re just going to continue to do it because we really like having people come in.” Brookhaven National Lab is located in Upton, 1.5 miles north of Long Island Expressway exit 68. For more information, visit bnl.gov or call 631-344-2651.