FUSION -- case studies #3 -- PP4SS

FUSION: Focusing on University Science Interpretation and Outreach Needs

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SCI-FUN

University of Edinburgh

Case study #3
Particle Physics for Scottish Schools
(an embryo example)

The roots of FUSION lay in a project that SCI-FUN carried out in collaboration with Alan Walker of the School of Physics. In 2004, Alan started PP4SS, the Particle Physics for Scottish Schools project, with a small projects award from PPARC. PP4SS is a workshop activity aimed at senior pupils from secondary schools, and has not only been used for school visits, but also during University functions, the Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF), and at Scottish Parliament events.

Particle Physics is both helped and hindered by its reputation with the general public: it is seen as a glamorous subject, but one that requires some background knowledge to understand. Alan’s goal was to find a way to create a series of connected exhibits, themed together under a single story, to introduce pupils and the public in general to some of particle physics’ simpler topics, with two particular goals: first, to describe the work being carried out at CERN’s LHC accelerator; and second, to introduce people to the ideas behind the discovery of particles from space, ‘cosmic rays’.

Working with Peter Reid and Mark Reynolds of the SCI-FUN team, Alan created a series of seven outreach exhibits, as part of the PP4SS cluster. Several of the exhibits, briefly described below, were used as prototypes of the FUSION design methodology: in particular, the LHC simulator, the cosmic ray doorway, and a card game, used to introduce pupils to particle interactions.

More information can be found on the PP4SS exhibits at the following page.

"FUSION" and SCI-FUN responsibilities

SCI-FUN was heavily involved with the initial stages of the PP4SS project, and hosted its exhibits at science festivals and Roadshow evening sessions. Exhibit construction and graphic design were also undertaken, as follows:

A desktop simulator for the CERN Large Hadron Collider was constructed as part of the exhibit cluster. It comprises a Java program, displaying graphics on a PC, and communicating via the serial port with a specially-designed circuit running code on a PIC microcontroller chip, which drives the front panel buttons, display and lever. This was the first FUSION project to incorporate programming, electronics, graphics and hardware design. The simulator is used in PP4SS school and festival events, and another version is installed in a corridor of the James Clerk Maxwell Building, at the University of Edinburgh's science campus.
A cosmic ray hodoscope was purchased, which detects incoming particles from space. To make the hodoscope more appealing as an engagement exhibit, the nascent FUSION team developed a cosmic ray doorway (shown opposite). The hodoscope is placed on the top of a door frame, under which a member of the public can stand. A pressure pad then activates two LED strips, which flash downwards (with a sound-effect) each time the hodoscope detects the arrival of a downward-passing particle (which then drills through the person standing underneath). The doorway gives an immediate sense of the sheer number of cosmic ray particles that rain down upon the planet, day and night.
Worksheets covering the exhibit cluster were designed, allowing S5/6 pupils to carry out some basic Physics experiments on the electrical and magnetic properties underpinning particle accelerators.
All of the exhibits were designed as modular, boxed units, able to be transported using one of the SCI-FUN Roadshow trolleys. By building each exhibit such that its components were all part of a single structure, setup times were drastically shortened, and made easier for inexperienced personnel. (Much more information on FUSION exhibit design can be found here.)
Extensive graphic design work was carried out for PP4SS (some of which is included here, and some on the design page). Posters and supporting materials were produced to advertise events at which the PP4SS team were on display.


Advertising an experiment carried out at the Ptarmigan station on Cairngorm	A poster accompanying the PP4SS exhibit stand at the Edinburgh International Science festival in 2005.	Artwork for the 2008 Edinburgh International Science festival.