In France, introducing young people and the general public to basic science (nuclear physics, physics of elementary particles, cosmology and astrophysics), the technological advances they require and their related applications (energy, health, etc.), is a key mission for the 25 CNRS/IN2P3 national research laboratories and platforms, and the CEA/IRFU. Our educational and outreach activities are carried out in close collaboration to teaching staff and take many forms: visit to laboratories, “Masterclass” discovery days, teacher-training courses, loans of cosmic-ray detectors for use in classrooms, teaching aids, exhibitions, websites, virtual visits, audiovisual productions, books, etc.

Our goal: to give people a taste for science and physics

In France, introducing young people and the general public to basic science (nuclear physics, physics of elementary particles, cosmology and astrophysics), the technological advances they require and their related applications (energy, health, etc.), is a key mission for the 25 CNRS/IN2P3 national research laboratories and platforms, and the CEA/IRFU. Our educational and outreach activities are carried out in close collaboration to teaching staff and take many forms: visit to laboratories, “Masterclass” discovery days, teacher-training courses, loans of cosmic-ray detectors for use in classrooms, teaching aids, exhibitions, websites, virtual visits, audiovisual productions, books, etc.

Our goal: to give people a taste for science and physics

The Italian research agency dedicated to the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the laws that govern them, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), is the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). It conducts theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics. Groups from the Universities of Rome, Padua, Turin, and Milan founded the INFN on 8thAugust 1951 to uphold and develop the scientific tradition established during the 1930s by Enrico Fermi and his school, with their theoretical and experimental research in nuclear physics. In the latter half of the 1950s, INFN designed and built the first Italian accelerator, the electron synchrotron developed in Frascati, where its first national laboratory was set up. During the same period, INFN began to participate in research into the construction and use of ever-more powerful accelerators being conducted by CERN, in Geneva. Today INFN employs some  6000 scientists whose work is recognized internationally not only for their contribution to various European laboratories, but also to numerous research centres worldwide. All of INFN’s research activities are undertaken within a framework of international competition, in close collaboration with Italian universities on the basis of solid academic partnerships spanning decades.

As an Institution working on cutting-edge scientific issues, INFN has a significant impact on the progress of knowledge, on technological development and on the economy of the country. Aware of this role, and of the fact that it is the duty of a public body to share its activities and the results that derive from them with society, the Institute is increasingly committed to outreach and public engagement. The Institute plays an important role in the communication of physics at the national and local level, by promoting, designing and implementing initiatives for the dissemination and promotion of scientific culture, both for the general public and for specific targets. In addition to traditional initiatives, it studies and experiments new forms of communication, emphasizing the fundamental relationship between physics and other areas of knowledge. The Institute also contributes a lot to the training of high school students through scholarships, internships, teacher training and school-work projects.

Brazil is represented in IPPOG by the National Network of High Energy Physics (Rede Nacional de Física de Altas Energias, RENAFAE, in Portuguese), officially created by the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology to coordinate the national effort in High Energy Physics. The country has a long tradition in High Energy Physics and its outreach. The event Masterclasses Hands On Particle Physics is applied in the country since 2008 and nowadays more than a 1000 students are reached every year in different institutions spread around the country. By the time Brazil was joining IPPOG, a Working Group was created congregating Particle Physicists and Science Education Experts from different Brazilian institutions around the country to promote particle physics outreach activities and to represent the country in IPPOG. Several initiatives are been developed by this group as the organization of regular meetings to exchange ideas and start new collaborations among the participants. For instance, a project to introduce cosmic ray detectors in elementary schools was born from this group. Given the size and demands of the country, uncountable initiatives and activities can still be created to promote particle physics and scientific knowledge in Brazil.

IPPOG Brazilian website: http://www1.fisica.org.br/ippog/

ALICE is a heavy-ion experiment, designed to study the collisions of nuclei at the ultra-relativistic energies provided by the LHC. The aim is to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at the highest energy densities reached so far in the laboratory. In such conditions, an extreme phase of matter - called the quark-gluon plasma - is formed. Our universe is thought to have been in such a primordial state for the first few millionths of a second after the Big Bang, before quarks and gluons were bound together to form protons and neutrons. Recreating this primordial state of matter in the laboratory and understanding how it evolves will allow us to shed light on questions about how matter is organized and the mechanisms that confine quarks and gluons. 

ALICE is a heavy-ion experiment, designed to study the collisions of nuclei at the ultra-relativistic energies provided by the LHC. The aim is to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at the highest energy densities reached so far in the laboratory. In such conditions, an extreme phase of matter - called the quark-gluon plasma - is formed. Our universe is thought to have been in such a primordial state for the first few millionths of a second after the Big Bang, before quarks and gluons were bound together to form protons and neutrons. Recreating this primordial state of matter in the laboratory and understanding how it evolves will allow us to shed light on questions about how matter is organized and the mechanisms that confine quarks and gluons. 

The Italian research agency dedicated to the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the laws that govern them, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), is the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). It conducts theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics. Groups from the Universities of Rome, Padua, Turin, and Milan founded the INFN on 8thAugust 1951 to uphold and develop the scientific tradition established during the 1930s by Enrico Fermi and his school, with their theoretical and experimental research in nuclear physics. In the latter half of the 1950s, INFN designed and built the first Italian accelerator, the electron synchrotron developed in Frascati, where its first national laboratory was set up. During the same period, INFN began to participate in research into the construction and use of ever-more powerful accelerators being conducted by CERN, in Geneva. Today INFN employs some  6000 scientists whose work is recognized internationally not only for their contribution to various European laboratories, but also to numerous research centres worldwide. All of INFN’s research activities are undertaken within a framework of international competition, in close collaboration with Italian universities on the basis of solid academic partnerships spanning decades.

As an Institution working on cutting-edge scientific issues, INFN has a significant impact on the progress of knowledge, on technological development and on the economy of the country. Aware of this role, and of the fact that it is the duty of a public body to share its activities and the results that derive from them with society, the Institute is increasingly committed to outreach and public engagement. The Institute plays an important role in the communication of physics at the national and local level, by promoting, designing and implementing initiatives for the dissemination and promotion of scientific culture, both for the general public and for specific targets. In addition to traditional initiatives, it studies and experiments new forms of communication, emphasizing the fundamental relationship between physics and other areas of knowledge. The Institute also contributes a lot to the training of high school students through scholarships, internships, teacher training and school-work projects.

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.