As hundreds of locals in the UBC area arrived at The Old Barn Community Centre last Saturday, they were greeted with the lively music from a Mariachi Band, Flamenco dancers, pan flute music, and much more. The University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA) hosted its 5th Annual Barn Raising on September 10, with a special theme this year: Fiesta!
The event consisted of booths from a variety of different associations, groups, and institutions, each with unique and engaging activities for kids of all ages to participate in. TRIUMF was honoured to be asked for the fourth year in a row to participate in the festivities with a booth of our own.
In keeping with the Mexican fiesta theme, TRIUMF prepared a variety of different science activities for both kids and adults. The first display consisted of a sombrero and miniature earth used to illustrate Mexican Hat Potential—a theory for the potential energy that leads to the Higgs mechanism. Next to that was a display of dancing popcorn (popped kernels were placed on speakers attached to a frequency generator) that educated the youngest of future scientists on how particles move quicker or slower based on energy and heat. For older audiences it turned into a spontaneous lesson on frequency and resonance, reminescent of how our microwave ovens heat food by exciting the water molecules inside lunch, dinner, and snacks.
TRIUMF’s second display, featuring a variety of different activities involving liquid nitrogen, was a smashing success, literally. For the first activity, flowers and leaves were dipped in liquid nitrogen and then smashed with a hammer. The moisture in the flower was flash frozen by the liquid nitrogen, which made them shatter like glass. In the second demonstration, the air inside in a balloon was cooled into a liquid before the audience’s very eyes. The last activity involved a rare-earth magnet (of the sort you might find at a hardware store) that was made to float on the magnetic field generated by eddy currents induced in a piece of superconducting material (cooled to about -200°C with liquid nitrogen) by the magnet itself. These were just some of the many activities that left kids cheering and laughing. Last but certainly not least; the TRIUMF display wouldn’t be complete without the infamous Cloud Chamber. Making it's annual trip from TRIUMF's lobby to the Old Barn, it lived up to it's reputation once again. The Cloud Chamber amazed all viewers both young and old as they got the chance to see cosmic rays!
As a special addition this year, TRIUMF offered two prizes - a bag of TRIUMF goodies and, the grand prize, a special VIP tour into the cyclotron. During most of the year, while the cyclotron is running, it is in a vacuum-sealed chamber. During maintenance in the Spring, there is a short period of time when the cyclotron is accessible. Usually closed to the public, one of the winners and a group of 4 friends will be able see the machine up close. Both winners were local to the UBC community and very exicted to win!
TRIUMF is proud to take part in community events, while educating kids about science through fun and engaging activities and demonstrations. Special thanks to Des Ramsay, Stan Yen, John Ng, Jess Brewer, Aaron Lao, Tim Meyer, and Jennifer Gagné for volunteering their time to help educate the community about TRIUMF and what we do. The event was a great success and we look forward to taking part next year.
-- Ryan East, Outreach Assistant