NIU launches physics outreach program

by Tom Parisi

When the Frontier Physics road show hits town—with its marshmallows dipped in liquid nitrogen and exploding hydrogen balloons—you immediately know who the scientists are.

They're the ones in Hawaiian shirts.

"We're out to break the stereotype of scientists being dorky guys with white lab coats, goggles and gloves," says NIU's Patrick Burnett, who runs the Frontier Physics show, often with assistance from NIU faculty and graduate students. "We want to show kids that scientists are cool—and they're not just men."

Students' hands fly as NIU's Patrick Burnett shifts into high gear during a Frontier Physics presentation at Malta Elementary School.

Burnett is coordinator of the Northern Illinois Physics Outreach Program, an effort by the Department of Physics to spark a lifelong science interest in school-aged children in DeKalb, Winnebago and Kane counties. The program includes a Web site, a science equipment repair program and the traveling Frontier Physics road show.

Frontier Physics already has visited more than a dozen schools this year, and Burnett is in the processing of scheduling dozens more. "Basically, I'm willing to go anywhere," he says.

The show includes demonstrations with:

• "Levitating magnets."

• Magic Fireworks Glasses, which break up light into its spectrum of colors. Each audience member receives a pair to take home.

• Liquid nitrogen. Students find out what happens when balloons and marshmallows are dipped in liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of about 320 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. "Kids can actually eat the marshmallows," Burnett says, "because the marshmallows act as great insulators—they don't conduct heat. On the other hand, if you ate a grape dipped in liquid nitrogen, it would be so cold your tongue would blister."

• Helium and hydrogen. For the grand finale, Burnett puts a match to two balloons, one filled with helium and one with hydrogen. The helium balloon merely pops. "But when we light the hydrogen you get a pretty impressive fireball," Burnett says. "We've had some teachers jump out of their seats."

The intent, of course, is not to scare teachers but to help them. As part of the outreach effort, NIU staff members also are willing to offer their insights and abilities to make repairs and upgrades to school science equipment. 

"We feel it's our responsibility to the region to offer our technical expertise," Burnett says. "So we're happy to work with school teachers and administrators to meet the needs of local school districts. We hope to develop relationships with teachers in order to either help them continue their education or assist in their students' education."

Additionally, Burnett says NIU hopes to expand its efforts to high schools. The university is willing to loan equipment to schools and will help students explore cutting-edge research topics in physics. 

"The physics department has been interested in doing high-impact
outreach for years," says NIU Physics Professor David Hedin. An Illinois Board of Higher Education/ Higher Education Cooperation Act grant helped get the program off the ground.

"We want to expose students to the interesting and fun aspects of science," Hedin adds. "We also want people to know that one of the world's premier laboratories is right down the road at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Batavia."

Students and educators can check out the NIU outreach program's Web site at http://niuhep.physics.niu.edu/~frontier. The site includes more information about the program, science links for kids and an "Ask the Physicist" section for students and teachers. Detailed information also is available on the NIU Observatory, located on campus atop Davis Hall.

Visitors to the observatory can take a public tour, reserve a private group tour or apply for telescope time by submitting a project proposal to the observatory manager. Thanks to donations from the NIU Foundation and the DeKalb Foundation, the observatory has purchased and installed two new telescopes. It also has a camera, video camera, three pairs of binoculars and two new computers to handle image-processing software.

Later this year, NIU will hold its first science summer camp. The June 23-28 camp will be offered to students graduating seventh grade through high school.

For more information on the Northern Illinois Physics Outreach Program, contact Burnett at (815) 753-6418.