SCI-ED Day - November 6, 2012

On Tuesday, November 6th, 2012, the Portal to Discovery, a partnership between the Office of Educational Programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Long Island Matrix of Science and Technology (LIMSAT) is hosting the 2nd annual Sci-Ed Day. This is an opportunity for all science educators to participate in a variety of workshops created for professional development.

Elementary teachers, through a series of hands-on activities, will explore static electricity and the atom, learn to differentiate those activities, and make valuable connections to their math and ELA curriculum. They will tour the collider and have the opportunity to speak with scientific staff.

Secondary teachers will choose a workshop that suits their interest. They will meet with BNL scientific staff, tour a research facility, and participate in lab-based activities that are grounded in research at BNL.

Workshop details and registration is through My Learning Plan. Participants will select one workshop for the day. The fee is $50 per participant. The day will include breakfast and lunch. Participation certificates will be supplied at the conclusion of the workshop.

Workshop Details

Balloonology: Shock it! Featuring: Atoms – what are they?

Audience: 1-6 Elementary Educators
Instructor: Physics/Portal to Discovery staff

Description: What do lightning, Benjamin Franklin, and balloons have in common? The answer is STATIC ELECTRICITY. In this workshop, we’ll take an in-depth look into the atom and explore how static electricity is generated. Working through Balloonology’s “Shock It” inquiry-based activities, you’ll have a chance to investigate forces of attraction and repulsion, charged vs. uncharged particles, and build a “make-in-take” electroscope. Are you ready for more? After a quick refueling, get ready to accelerate your knowledge of atoms and peek into the “Sub-Atomic World” by way of BNL’s world-renowned Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) experiment. You’ll have fun colliding and collaborating with fellow “in the know” educators and leave feeling POSITIVELY CHARGED with an activity guide overflowing with resources for integrating science, math, technology, and literacy into one hair-raising, atom-smashing experience!

Maximum # of participants: 25

Structural Biology and Drug Design

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: National Synchrotron Light Source/Portal to Discovery staff

Description: National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) beam line scientists will demonstrate crystallization techniques. Teachers will grow lysozyme crystals in our lab then examine their specimens using X-rays at the NSLS. Teachers will learn about exciting Protein Crystallography Research Resource (PXRR) projects that their students can participate in. Note: In addition to the laboratory activity, participants will visit the NSLS to complete their analysis.

Maximum # of participants: 16

Predicting the Weather and Predicting the Power

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Atmospheric Sciences/Energy & Utilities/Portal to Discovery staff

Description: How do individual clouds affect the output of solar panels? With solar energy sources as large as the Long Island Solar Farm (LISF) and as small as arrays installed on roofs of homes, electricity from multiple power sources is now being integrated into the electrical grid, and the impacts of integrating this distributed generation are not well understood. “Nowcasting” weather becomes more important as we begin to rely on the sun for energy. Visit the LISF and meet atmospheric scientists currently studying low marine boundary layer clouds using instrumentation aboard the Horizon Lines container ship Spirit. Experience hands-on activities related to solar panels, aerosols, and the age old problem of predicting the weather accurately.

Maximum # of participants: 20

GPS and Radio Telemetry in Wildlife Studies

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Environmental Protection Division/Portal to Discovery staff

Description: GPS and Radio Telemetry are valuable tools for environmental scientists conducting wildlife studies. This session will include a brief introduction to GPS, radio telemetry, and triangulation. Participants will be given the opportunity to use GPS units outside to take location and navigate way points. They will use receivers to track animals or radio collars outdoors. After, we will plot the locations on a Geographic Information System (GIS) map. *Both indoor and outdoor activities are included in this session. Please wear long sleeves, long pants, long socks, and appropriate footwear.

Maximum # of participants: 15

Seeing the Invisible: Microscopy at Brookhaven National Lab

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: National Synchrotron Light Source/Center for Functional Nanomaterials/Portal to Discovery staff

Description: Participants will visit two premier Brookhaven facilities. At the National Synchrotron Light Source, which uses infrared, ultra violet, and x-ray light to image materials including biological molecules and semiconductor devices, participants will learn about InSynC, a program designed to make teachers and students scientific users of the NSLS. The Center for Functional Nanomaterials is home to scanning probe and atomic force microscopes which enable scientists to view and manipulate materials at the nanoscale. Hands-on activities will help solidify complex concepts at CFN.

Maximum # of participants: 16

Smashing Atoms: RHIC and ATLAS

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Physics Department/Portal to Discovery Staff

Description: This workshop will encompass the Nuclear and High Energy Physics groups at Brookhaven Lab. Participants will get an inside look at BNL’s Collider Accelerator Department which operates the Lab’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Additionally, BNL serves as the U.S. host laboratory of the ATLAS experiment at CERN, the world’s most powerful accelerator. Scientists will discuss the most recent discoveries emerging from Switzerland.

Maximum # of participants: 16