The world of fundamental particles
A one hour talk on the families and properties of subatomic particles and their behaviour and interactions. The talk covers an introduction of the research that is carried out at CERN, the atomic and sub-atomic structure of matter and the families of particles in the standard model. Depending on the age of the audience the talk can also include demonstrations on how physicists discovered the sub-atomic particles without being able to see the particles themselves.
This work has been created in collaboration with Prof Cristina Lazzeroni and has been published in Physics Education.
A teaching guide for this talk and workshop can be found at the University of Birmingham website.
The world of fundamental particles workshop
Image credit: Dr Maria Pavlidou
The workshop allows students to personify a fundamental particle for the day and make its model using simple materials, so that the design reflects its behaviour and properties. Depending on the age of the audience the workshop can also include particle interactions where students write, sing or act a story on how subatomic particles interact with one another.
Duration: 2 hours
Student ages: 9-14 years old
School must provide (per student): sellotape, scissors, colour pencils, lined and plain A4 paper
Number of participants: 30 students maximum
Skills gained: working creatively