QuarkNet and Fermilab are the leading institutions for United States particle physics outreach.
Both institutions had an exciting 2020, transitioning quickly to virtual offerings and expanding particle physics education and outreach to new audiences.
In addition to offering remote workshops at centers across the US, QuarkNet offered a
Wednesday Webinar series for high school classrooms toward the end of the 2019–20 school year and a six-week Summer Session for teachers which introduced participants to the history and development of the Standard Model. For the 2020–21 academic year, we have inaugurated QuarkNet Educational Discussions, which are an opportunity for teachers to come together every two weeks to share ideas and learn from one another about teaching physics remotely. Many of Fermilab’s biggest programs went virtual in 2020 and attracted expanded audiences, including the annual STEM Career Expo, teacher training workshops, Saturday Morning Physics, Fermilab Arts and Lecture Series, classroom visits from Fermilab staff, Ask-a-Scientist, and even Mr. Freeze. Although nothing can ever replace the feeling of seeing big science up close, these virtual offerings are filling a gap until we can return to welcoming the public to in-person events.
Each summer the EPE Office offers a number of different workshops for K–12 teachers, each geared toward specific grade levels. On short notice, Fermilab sent kits across the country to teachers interested in participating, thus ensuring that the hands-on piece of the program was not lost. Now, Fermilab science will be taught in the virtual and in-person classrooms of 109 more teachers across the United States.
Saturday Morning Physics is a long-standing tradition at Fermilab. In September 2020 the program was relaunched as fully virtual for the present time. Featuring talks by Fermilab staff, virtual tours and plenty of time for questions, this program had its largest graduating class ever. For the public Fermilab was able to relaunch Ask-a-Scientist and our Summer Science Series as virtual programs. The events have been well-attended: 500 people have participated in the two series.
