The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will open its gates to the community on Saturday, August 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for a day of discovery and fun for the whole family. The event is free and open to the public.
"The open house will be great fun for everyone," said Eric Isaacs, director of Argonne National Laboratory. "We love welcoming the community and having an opportunity to show off some of the great work we are doing to benefit our nation while inspiring public interest in science, engineering and technology."
This rare opportunity will allow visitors to see how Argonne, the nation's first national laboratory, is helping to solve some of the world's toughest challenges in energy, environment and national security and learn more about science and technology.
Argonne conducts basic scientific research to better understand the world we live in, develops and evaluates advanced energy sources, promotes environmental stewardship and helps protect our nation and its economic competiveness. Argonne also operates world-class user facilities to help advance America's scientific leadership, including one of the world's fastest and most energy efficient supercomputers.
The laboratory's last open house, held in 2006, attracted approximately 20,000 people. Information about this year's open house is available online or on the Argonne National Laboratory Facebook page.
The educational event will feature interactive exhibits, hands-on demonstrations, engaging presentations and tours of Argonne's unique facilities.
Let your imagination soar as you learn about the wonders of science, explore technology innovation and experience Argonne's research firsthand with experiences like:
- Strap on special 3-D glasses to explore the outer edges of the universe
- Race the robot in a molecular biology speed challenge
- Test your sense of smell against an electronic nose
- View a chain reaction
- Calculate your environmental footprint
- Have fun with extreme cold and cryogenics
- Witness how ice slurry can save lives
- Turn matter into energy
- See how science is helping to restore sight to the blind
- Find out how Sudoku, science and supercomputers work together in solving logic puzzles
- Learn about the science of toys
- Walk through an accelerator
- Glimpse nanoparticles changing colors
- Battle model cars powered by fuel cells to see which is fastest
- Watch a master scientific glassblower demonstrate his craft
- Monitor climate change with live data feeds from around the world
- Ride an energy bike to generate electricity
- Identify proteins and learn how they can clean up the environment and produce energy
- Explore the mysteries of magnets by building one of your own
- Visualize local, national and international environmental projects with interactive 3-D maps
Tours will include the Advanced Photon Source, the Western Hemisphere's most brilliant source of X-rays for research; the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a leading nanotechnology research facility; ATLAS, the Argonne Tandem-Linac Accelerator System; and the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator.
The event will be held rain or shine. Free shuttle service will be provided and food and drink will be available for purchase. Advance reservations are not required, and visitors are welcome to take photos and videos of the event.
Argonne is located at 9700 South Cass Avenue, just south of Interstate 55 near Darien and Lemont, with entrances from Cass Avenue and Lemont Road.