FRIB

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Use magnetic marbles representing protons and neutrons to model a nucleus, then smash it to pieces just like scientists at MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams! FRIB is a world-leading laboratory for creating and studying rare isotopes that don’t exist on Earth. This is your chance to create exotic nuclei and discover more about FRIB research!

Learn more about A Smashing Time with Nuclei at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Discover the world of rare isotopes at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) on the Michigan State University campus. With over 800 dedicated staff, FRIB is helping scientists unlock the mysteries of atomic nuclei and the origin of the elements. For the past few years, FRIB employees have channeled their creativity through the "What FRIB Means To Me" photo contest, capturing stunning images of their unique work environment. Visit our exhibit to explore these amazing photographs and learn about the groundbreaking science happening behind the scenes.

Learn more about Nuclear Science in Photos: Insider's View of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Come join the Gaiser Group to learn about radioactivity, including its beneficial uses and historical uses in things like uranium glass!

This is an FRIB affiliated presentation. 

Learn more about Radioactive!

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Stars are fascinating to study, but you wouldn’t want to go there and take measurements yourself. MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) can recreate the stellar environment for more controlled (and safer) research. Discover how our researchers are producing the kinds of nuclei only found in stars and giving them the right energy to duplicate stellar reactions! You'll use several hands-on demonstrations to understand how FRIB smashes nuclei and measures their invisible fragments.

Learn more about Fantastic Nuclei and Where to Find Them

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore the world-class Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), where nuclei are smashed into a target at nearly half the speed of light! Our tour takes you behind the scenes where nuclei are accelerated, smashed, and studied. The secrets we learn could help explain what happens in supernovae and the origins of elements that make up the human body. Adults will need to complete a permission form for any minors in their party. This tour will be limited to the first 50 visitors in line; others will be invited to the virtual tour at Abrams Planetarium.

Learn more about Tour the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore a world-class rare isotope laboratory where nuclei are smashed into a target at half the speed of light! Our new 1500-foot-long linear accelerator and the research spaces inside MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) will be revealed with images, 3D models, and animations projected on the dome. Our “virtual tour” takes you to many locations that would normally be inaccessible!

Learn more about A Virtual Tour of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

In this interactive session, our panelists will showcase various innovative ways in which we can communicate complex scientific concepts, particularly in the field of nuclear physics. Four presenters representing diverse backgrounds and career paths will introduce their work at the intersection of art, communication, and science. Their talks explore dance, film, multimedia installations, and the art of public speaking. A fundamental focus of all these efforts is on fostering the integration of traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM through the use of nontraditional channels, thus creating a more inclusive and diverse scientific community. 

Learn more about The Art of Science Communication

Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Storytelling can be one exceptionally powerful way for fostering a thriving environment in our scientific community. Join us for an enlightening session in which two awesome physicist-filmmakers, Dr. Ágnes Mócsy and Dr. Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez share their unique perspectives on filmmaking as a venue to share our stories, walking right at the intersections of the sciences and the arts. In conversation with one another and Pablo Giuliani as a guiding panelist, these filmmakers will discuss the creative and human aspects of science, the collaborative potential between art and research, and how documentary filmmaking can dismantle stereotypes surrounding scientists and help engage us all.

Learn more about Science on Screen, Humanity in Focus

Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us for a special IMAX screening of Secrets of the Universe followed by a Q and A with physicist and film narrator Dr. Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez.

Secrets of the Universe is a sweeping 3D giant-screen adventure that immerses audiences in the greatest mystery of our time—puzzles spanning from the infinitesimal to the infinite—and introduces the brilliant minds seeking to unravel them. Those answers await at the collision points of intellect and imagination, of theory and experiment, of the tiniest particles and most powerful forces in the universe. 

This is an FRIB affiliated event and is also sponsored by the MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Learn more about Secrets of the Universe IMAX Screening