Six events in five communities in six weeks
Sanford Lab public outreach will bring underground science to audiences all across South Dakota in the next six weeks, from here in Lead, at the western edge of the state, to Sioux Falls in the east.
We could reach more than 5,000 people. That?s a bold prediction in a state with few ?capitas? per many, many square miles, but we do have a plan.
Next Saturday (June 8) we?ll be in Sioux Falls for the It?s All About Science Festival at Sanford Research. Last year?s festival drew more than 4,000 people, despite torrential rains, so attendance could grow. In addition, as we did last year, we?ll do a live videoconference between the event in Sioux Falls and two scientists in the Davis Campus on our 4850 Level. Dark matter physicist Richard Ott of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment and Sanford Lab physicist Mark Hanhardt will give a quick tour, by video, and answer questions from the audience.
On Monday, June 10, we?ll do another 4850 Level videoconference, this time with a joint-service club audience at the Kelly Inn in Yankton, S.D. SDSTA Board Member Paul Christen created this outreach format, and we?ve used it successfully in Huron, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls. Underground Electrical Foreman Chris Bauer, who?s home is in Yankton, is giving us a local edge there by providing logistical support and reaching out to his many friends in the area.
On June 20, we?ll do the same kind of event in Mitchell, S.D., at the Ramkota Inn, thanks to support from state Sen. Mike Vehle.
Less than a week later, we?ll return to the Black Hills for a completely different kind of outreach. Together with the Department of Energy, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) collaboration, we?ll host two public information meetings about the upcoming Environmental Assessment for LBNE. The meetings will be at the Days Inn in Lead on June 25 and at the Ramkota Convention Center in Rapid City, S.D., on June 26?both from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Check our website and future issues of Deep Thoughts for details.
Then the Sanford Lab public outreach team will turn its attention to our sixth annual free science festival, Neutrino Day, which this year is Saturday, July 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last year nearly 1,000 people attended. This year we?ll have activities here at the Sanford Lab, at the Homestake Visitor Center and in downtown Lead, and we hope for an even bigger turnout.
Neutrino Day also requires a big team. This year our major sponsors include South Dakota Public Broadcasting, the John T. Vucurevich Foundation, Black Hills Power and the Lead Chamber of Commerce. Cosponsors include Goldcorp. Inc., Simpsons Printing, Rushmore Radio, Black Hills State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the Lead Deadwood Arts Center, Homestake Opera House, the Black Hills Mining Museum and the Hearst Library in Lead.
Neutrino Day will be supported by volunteers, too, from the Sanford Lab and from throughout the community. They include engineers, administrators, interns, artists, retirees, students, project managers, emergency responders, hoist operators, multimedia specialists, technicians and, of course, scientists. Lots of scientists?including preeminent researchers in the fields of biofuels, dark matter detection and neutrinoless double-beta decay.