Particle Detectives: A low-cost portable science show

The world is made up of particles. Here, we invite the audience to become “particle detectives” for the day, following along as we use a variety of interesting interactions to demonstrate the existence of particles and their interactions, zooming in from molecules to electrons, then to photons and some light explanations of how these all tie together in large particle detectors at CERN.

This show has been designed to be modular to allow maximum flexibility. Experiments can be switched in and out, depending on the level of the audience, available materials, and other local constraints. If followed as is, the main script should last approximately 40 minutes and is suitable for the general public or middle school / lower high school audiences.

An annex is included with a handful of other experiments, which can be added or substituted for a longer show, to adapt for older/younger audiences and if any of the main sequence experiments prove difficult to source materials for or to otherwise include.

This work was conducted in partnership with CERN Science Gateway and draws inspiration from their Science Shows, with all copyrights reserved by CERN.