G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Northern Site Education and Outreach

• Contacts already made with schools• Solidifying, establishing school partnerships• Other Colorado cosmic ray outreach• Program of SE Colorado outreach programs• Funding a Northern Site outreach program

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Start of Northern Site Outreach Efforts

• J. Harton, G. Snow met with Southeast Colorado Board of School Administrators to discuss teacher and student projects, 1 September 2004

• All parties expressed an interest in establishing outreach programs connected to Auger science and scientists

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Schools Visited / Town Meetings

School visitsLamar

Las AnimasMcClave

WileySpringfield

Town meetingsLamar

SpringfieldLas Animas

Initial contact made with schools and communities

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

• Portable beeping Geiger counter display

• Purchasing 3 of these for use in SE Colorado schools

• Also plan to fund a scintillator array at one school fashioned after Univ. of Nebraska CROP project

$5K from Colorado governor to seed Auger outreachin Colorado

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) in Nebraska

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

26 Participating Nebraska High Schools

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Summer 2005 CROP Workshop at UNL

Array of all detectorsfrom all CROP high schools

at the University

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Installation at one school in the nextseveral months

Lamar

Data acquisition cardsin short supplyUpcoming proposal for Phase II of CROP – statewide expansion –

can include SE Colorado extension

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Colorado• Aspen High School, Aspen, CO

• Basalt High School, Basalt, CO

• Roaring Fork Valley High School, Carbondale, CO

• Lake County High School, Leadville, CO The highest-elevation school in the U.S. -- 10,152 feet ASL Illinois• Wheaton North High School, Wheaton, IL

SALTA: Snowmass Area Large Time-Coincidence Array

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

The Henderson Mine Project

SALTA students moved detectors to underground locations. Data was collected September 29 - December 8, 2004

monitoring 4 locations 2800-3900 feet below the surface.Students are analyzing data to prepare a report

on cosmic ray muon rates as a function of depth.http://crop.unl.edu/claes/SALTA/HendersonProject.html

Henderson Mine (Empire, CO) is one of two finalist sites under consideration for the

Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratoryto be anchored by the Underground Neutrino Observatory

SALTA detectors used to measure cosmic ray background rates underground.

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

A program of SE Colorado outreach

• World-class visitor center at Lamar C.C. complex• Series of public lectures• Public events – telescope viewings• Frequent visits to schools• Research projects for physics classes

• Joining the growing high school cosmic ray research network (CROP connection)

• Science fair projects/entries• Teacher professional development programs• Programs targeting Spanish speaking community

… to be fleshed out with lots of input from the Colorado collaborating institutions

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Funding a Northern Site outreach program

I believe the basic question is whether thecollaboration:

• Proposes an outreach program as part of the main Auger science/detector proposal(s)

• Submits a stand-alone outreach proposal, as I have seen for HiRes, IceCube, …

G. Snow, University of NebraskaLamar, Colorado 22 October 2005

Final remark

Plans for Northern Site outreach should be integrated in the planning and proposal

process for the Northern Auger Observatory