Explore Brookhaven Lab This Summer
Meet scientists, visit world-class research facilities, enjoy science shows, and more at the Lab's Summer Sundays open house tours
June 28, 2023
UPTON, NY—The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory invites the public to visit this summer to explore the frontiers of discovery at its world class facilities and join fun activities for all ages. The Lab’s Summer Sundays open house series is back with four free tour dates in July.
Visitors can catch shows that astound with magic and science, hear from researchers and engineers at the forefront of their fields, and become scientists or artists themselves during interactive demonstrations.
No reservations are needed. All activities are first-come, first-served. The Lab’s gates will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on each event day. Visit the Summer Sundays website for more information and show times.
July 9 – Family Fun at the Science Learning Center
Join us for hands-on family fun at the Science Learning Center with interactive exhibits on many different areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. Activities include:
- The Science of Magic: The secrets of magic are scientifically revealed in this educational, entertaining show!
- Wildlife at Brookhaven Lab: See photos of the wildlife at Brookhaven Lab and learn about ongoing wildlife research.
- Amazing Activity Zone: Children learn how simple circus tricks work with physics.
- Science Learning Center: Hands-on, interactive exhibits
- The Firehouse at Brookhaven Lab: Tour Brookhaven Lab's firehouse and see firefighting gear while learning how our Lab Protection Division helps keep our community safe.
July 16 — Small-scale Science at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Visit the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), where researchers probe tiny structures for big discoveries! See electron microscopes and a clean room, where research teams work with advanced materials at the nanoscale. Activities include:
- The Magic of Chemistry: Magic tricks and circus skills help explain atoms, molecules, the elements, compounds, solutions, magnetism, and static electricity in a fun, live show.
- Scaling Up for the Very Small: How can we power our electronics efficiently and sustainably? Answers to this question—and many others—are waiting to be discovered at the ultra-small nanoscale. Learn how scientists are teaming up on theoretical and computational research for more advanced, efficient electronic devices and, ultimately, a brighter future.
- Machine Learning and Autonomous Material Development: Can machine learning, a certain kind of AI, help researchers decide which experiments will help them develop new materials for better batteries, faster computer chips, and other applications? In some ways—but there is more work to be done. Hear from a researcher who created a unique system that connects software and a robot to "tune" new materials with building blocks organized at the nanoscale.
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials: Visit CFN, where researchers probe tiny structures for big discoveries! See electron microscopes and a clean room, where research teams work with advanced materials at the nanoscale and beyond. Build a model molecule. Try “virtual nano reality.” And learn how researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and state-of-the-art tools for breakthroughs in clean energy, microelectronics, and quantum and materials science.
- Hands-on Science, Math, and Art: Enjoy activities like origami, line art, shape building, and microscopes.
July 23 — Dazzling Discoveries at the National Synchrotron Light Source II
Tour the experimental floor at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), which produces light 10 billion times brighter than the sun for cutting-edge research. Activities include:
- Science Spectacular Laser Light Show: Delve into the mysteries of light, color, and perception in an exciting laser light show that proves science is cool.
- Lighting a Path Through the COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 needs no introduction. But during this talk, meet Sean McSweeney, a researcher who had a part in fighting it, using x-rays from NSLS-II to find protective mask materials, develop antiviral agents and targets for vaccines, and more.
- National Synchrotron Light Source II: Tour the experimental floor at NSLS-II, which produces light 10 billion times brighter than the sun for cutting-edge research. Participate in hands-on science fun at interactive stations! Become a "junior operator" by running our model synchrotron. Peer into microscopes, see a toy solar car in action, build a candy crystal, and watch exciting demonstrations with liquid nitrogen
- Hands-on Science, Math, and Art: Enjoy activities like origami, line art, shape building, and microscopes.
July 30 — Fascinating Physics with the universe’s basic building blocks
Learn about the amazing science of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the future Electron-Ion Collider. Visit the Superconducting Magnet Division where magnet designs for particle accelerators are created. Activities include:
- Mr. Fish's Phenomenal Physics: See a renowned circus performer present astounding tricks with scientific explanations.
- RHIC and the EIC: The Physics and Engineering Powering Two Particle Colliders: Learn about the amazing science and engineering at RHIC and the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Take a virtual tour of RHIC and learn about plans for the EIC, a next-generation discovery machine.
- STAR-struck!: Take a virtual tour of the awe-inspiring STAR detector at RHIC. For more than two decades, scientists have used STAR to investigate the astounding stuff that came before stars in the early universe.
- Superconducting Magnet Division Tour (long version): Visit the Superconducting Magnet Division, which designs unique magnets for particle accelerators, experimental facilities, and industrial applications.
- The Dipole Magnet at the Superconducting Magnet Division (short version): See a special dipole magnet designed at the Superconducting Magnet Division for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), which smashes ions at nearly the speed of light.
- See What's Inside sPHENIX, the Newest Detector: Learn about the newest nuclear physics experiment at the RHIC: sPHENIX! The sPHENIX detector has a powerful superconducting magnet—much like the ones use in MRI machines, but big enough for an elephant to walk through. That magnet, with other components, measure the energy of particles produced when gold ions collide in sPHENIX and can help advance our knowledge about quarks and gluons—subatomic building blocks for nearly everything we see in the visible universe.
- Hands-on Science: Explore engineering, electricity, and magnetism with employees of Brookhaven Lab's Collider-Accelerator Department.
How to visit
Brookhaven Lab is located 1.5 miles north of LIE Exit 68. Visitors 16 and older must bring photo ID. Food and beverage services are not available at the Brookhaven Lab site.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
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2023-21314 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
