SCI-ED Day - November 5, 2013

On Tuesday, November 5th, 2013, the Portal to Discovery, a partnership between the Office of Educational Programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and the Long Island Matrix of Science and Technology (LIMSAT) is hosting the 3rd 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 a laboratory facility 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 distributed at the conclusion of the workshop.

Workshop Details

Shock it! Explorations in Static Electricity

Audience: Elementary Educators
Instructor: National Synchrotron Light Source/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 at the atom and explore how static electricity is generated. Working through some of our integrated, hands-on, inquiry-based STEM activities, you will have a chance to build an electroscope, test various materials to learn about the Triboelectric Series, and discover the forces of attraction and repulsion. After a quick refueling, get ready to accelerate your knowledge of atoms and peek into the “Sub-Atomic World” by way of BNL’s National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). You will leave with new insights into static electricity, your very own electroscope, and an activity guide overflowing with resources for bringing some hair rising experiences back into your classroom!

Maximum # of participants: 24

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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 learn how to manipulate lysozyme protein crystals to study receptor-ligand interactions and how scientists collect and analyze their data using current protein analysis software. Teachers will learn about exciting Protein Crystallography Research Resource (PXRR) projects that their students can participate in. In addition to the laboratory activities, participants will visit the NSLS facility.

Maximum # of participants: 16

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Predicting the Weather and Predicting the Power

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Atmospheric Sciences/NOAA/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 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) center, meet atmospheric scientists and discuss current methods to forecast weather. Portal to Discovery staff will present two lessons as examples of integrating these topics and internet weather data into your classroom.

Maximum # of participants: 16

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Introduction to Nanotechnology

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Center for Functional Nanomaterials/Portal to Discovery Staff

Description: The Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at Brookhaven National Laboratory looks at the properties of materials at the nanoscale, one billionth of a meter. Participants will visit the CFN, 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: 12

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Exploring Matter

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

Description: This workshop will encompass the Nuclear and High Energy Physics groups at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Participants will get an inside look at the only collider operating in the U.S., BNL’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 which studies the physics of the universe. Scientist will discuss the most recent discoveries emerging from Switzerland. In the afternoon, participants delve into the fundamentals of particle physics.

Maximum # of participants: 16

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Nonproliferation and Homeland Security

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Nonproliferation and National Security/Portal to Discovery Staff

Description: Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed an extensive portfolio of counterterrorism and nonproliferation technologies. Participants will explore the mythical country of Freedonia and be part of an exercise to evaluate the nuclear activities of Freedonia by analyzing and interpreting a variety of clues to their activities. Hand-on activities will allow teachers to test their measurement skills.

Maximum # of participants: 20

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IT @ BNL

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Information Technology Department/Portal to Discovery Staff

Description: Participants will spend the day learning about the latest technologies used by Brookhaven National Laboratory to secure and disseminate information. In addition, participants will learn the role that information technology plays in showcasing and capturing scientific data and will visit BNL’s state of the art computing facilities New York Blue and BlueGene/Q supercomputers.

Maximum # of participants: 20

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Explorations in Engineering

Audience: Secondary Educators
Instructor: Instrumentation Division/Portal to Discovery Staff

Description: Participants will work with circuit components to build a light detector and examine the importance of resolution for cameras. In particular, we will be comparing our design with that of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera being built at Brookhaven National Laboratory by visiting the Instrumentation Department. In the afternoon, participants will be using a computer chip (called the Makey Makey) to design several different game controllers using various conductors that are readily accessible for teachers and students.

Maximum # of participants: 16