Speaker
Margaret Norris
(Sanford Underground Laboratory)
Description
The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) – proposed for the site of the former Homestake Goldmine in Lead, SD – will provide the facility and infrastructure for scientists to study some of the most compelling questions about the history and fate of our universe through its major experiments searching for direct evidence of dark matter and exploring the nature of neutrinos. The Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake - operated by the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority - is currently preparing the site and hosting early science and education activities.
The Sanford Center for Science Education (SCSE) is in the planning stages as the education component of DUSEL. The mission of the SCSE is to draw upon the science and engineering of DUSEL, its human resources, its unique facility and its setting within the Black Hills to inspire and prepare future generations of scientists, engineers, and science educators. As work proceeds towards design of the building, institution, and the programs and exhibits therein, early work has progressed towards establishing programs that build capacity and partnerships and begin to prototype innovative educational programming and exhibits to meet its educational vision.
As the Sanford Lab/DUSEL education team explores innovative ways to convey the excitement of DUSEL physics to audiences of all ages, successes and challenges from the first two years of early educational programming will be highlighted in this talk. Examples include:
For Students:
• The Davis-Bahcall Scholars Program
• Development of a conceptual modern physics course for K-12
For educators
• Professional development workshops
For the public
• Deep science lecture series
• Neutrino Days
Cultural connections
• Finding intersections between American Indian ways of knowing and modern cosmology
Summary
The Sanford Center for Science Education (SCSE) is in the planning stages as the education component of DUSEL. As the Sanford Lab/DUSEL education team explores innovative ways to convey the excitement of DUSEL physics to audiences of all ages, successes and challenges from the first two years of early educational programming will be highlighted in this talk.
Primary author
Margaret Norris
(Sanford Underground Laboratory)
Co-author
Benedict Sayler
(BHSU)
