June 5, 2002

Electronic newsroom

02-47

Free Summer Sunday Tours at Brookhaven Lab, July 14 – August 25

UPTON, NY — This summer, Sunday tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory will feature exciting interactive exhibits and an inside look at a different Laboratory facility each Sunday, including the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the world’s newest and biggest particle accelerator for nuclear physics research.

Also, Brookhaven’s Magnet Division will be open to the public for the first time this year. Visitors will be able to see how high-tech magnets are made for accelerators around the world.
 

Youngsters enjoy robotics, which will be among the exciting exhibits available to visitors at Brookhaven during its Summer Sunday Tours.

The Lab will be open for tours on seven consecutive Sundays, from July 14 to August 25. Tour hours are between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Admission is free and no reservations are needed, but to be admitted on site, all visitors age 15 and over must bring a photo ID.

A new hands-on exhibit called “Brain Teasers,” a collection of 20 puzzles ranging from giant jigsaws to rope tricks, will challenge both children and adults. Also, local high school students will demonstrate the robots they built.

The “Whiz Bang Science Show” — popular with both adults and children — will be shown at 10:30 a.m., 12 noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. every Sunday during the summer program. Both children and adults will enjoy lively interactive demonstrations of basic scientific principles. How does a “Bernoulli blower” float a beach ball in the air? What’s a corrugaphone and how does sound travel through it? These are just a few of the intriguing items to be covered in the show.

The tour schedule is as follows:

July 14 — Life Sciences
Explore the fascinating world of biological and medical research and the important role each plays in vaccine and drug development. Learn about Brookhaven’s research on addiction; visit the Biology Department’s greenhouses.

July 21 — Magnet Division
Brookhaven scientists build huge, super-cold, superconducting magnets that guide subatomic particles around accelerators at nearly the speed of light. Come see how these incredible high-tech magnets are made for accelerators around the world.

July 28 — Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
RHIC collides subatomic particles at high energies in an effort to recreate a hot, dense matter that has not existed since moments after the Big Bang. Tour this world-class accelerator and learn how it helps physicists explore the subatomic world.

August 4 — Brookhaven National Laboratory Fire Station
Take a look at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s emergency response equipment and watch demonstrations when you visit the firehouse.

August 11 — National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS)
See the light! Discover how infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray “light” produced in the NSLS is used for scientific research in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and many other fields.

August 18 — Energy & Environment
Learn about energy efficiency and pollution prevention. See advanced technologies for home heating, alternative-fuel vehicles, and fuel cells. Games for children will be featured, including a recycling relay race.

August 25 — Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
In case you missed it on July 28, RHIC will be open for tours again.

For more information about Brookhaven’s free Sunday tours, call (631) 344-2651. Brookhaven Lab is located on William Floyd Parkway (County Road 46), one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. Brookhaven also builds and operates major facilities available to university, industrial, and government scientists. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.