Teacher Academy


Creating Access to World Class Science and Engineering for K-12 Teachers and Students

BCCP Homepage Academy Activity Instructors For Students For Teachers For Berkeley Lab Staff Facilities Center for Science and Engineering Education Academy Homepage
		Standard Model of Particles and Interactions

		Ayana Holloway - What makes up the universe and how do we know? Dr. Holloway explained the different kinds of elementary particles in the universe, and how they interact. She described early experiments that revealed there is more to the universe than protons, neutrons and electrons. She also discussed experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that may disclose the origin of particle mass and the nature of dark matter. Dr. Holloway currently works on the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Halloway Powerpoint Presentation pdf
		Alexie Leauthaud and Reiko Nakajima - Gravitational Lensing and Cosmology Dr. Leauthaud and Dr. Nakajima presented an introduction to cosmology and discussed the gravitational bending of light by massive galaxies, the cosmic web of dark matter, and gravitational lensing with the Hubble telescope. Powerpoint Presentation pdf Teacher Resources: Dark Matter classroom lesson Gravity is a fascinating topic. We have all experimented with gravity since early childhood. Gravity has now lead scientists to the discovery of a new type of matter (or at least an apparently "extra" amount of gravity) in the universe. Using gravitational and centripetal forces students will interpret cosmic data that is evidence of extra gravity or some unseen dark matter in the universe. Simulating Gravitational Attraction Activity - Laurie Kerrigan This activity uses experimental observations on revolving objects to understand planet and galaxy rotations.
		Discovery Station: Lens and Light Paths - Rollie Otto Lasers were used to trace the bending (refraction) of light as it enters a new material (various lenses). The different effect of convex and concave lenses were observed. Catherine (Mia) Ihm Ms. Ihm demonstrated the curvature of space due to gravity by placing objects onto fabric draped over a hoop. The size of the object determined the depth of curvature, showing how the fabric of space/time can be distorted by objects in space.
		Cosmic Ray Detector Sites Teams used the Cosmic Ray Detectors in various locations and discussed how they worked and what they observed. Cosmic Ray Detector Cosmic rays are produced in our atmosphere when high-energy particles (mostly protons, alpha particles, and C/N/O nuclei) from outer space interact with atmospheric particles. This reaction produces new particles including pions, which decay into muons detectable on the surface of Earth as cosmic rays. The two main sources of cosmic rays are our sun and supernovae. They typically have a range of energies between 10⁹ electron volts to 10²⁰ electron volts. When the muons travel through a spark chamber such as this one, their paths become visible in the form of light due to their charge.

		Day one: Cosmology for the 21st Century Day two: History and Structure of the Universe Day three: History and Structure of the Universe Day five: Beyond the Standard Model of Particles and Interactions Day six: Cosmologists for the 21st Century Workshop homepage