MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Science on Saturday

Science on Saturday

Science on Saturday events are fun, free science demonstrations at Lincoln Laboratory and are given several times each school year by volunteer scientists and engineers. All local community K–12 students, their parents, and their teachers are welcome to attend these events.

Parental/adult escort is required for all children. Electronic devices are not allowed in the facility. Pre-registration is required for these events. For directions to Lincoln Laboratory, please see the Map and Driving Directions page.

Previous Science on Saturday events have focused on cryogenics, electricity and magnetism, acoustics, chemistry, optics, ions, hands-on engineering, and mathematics.

Upcoming Events

Asteroids — Fact or Fiction

April 7, 2013 (Science on Sunday)
Speaker: Dr. Grant Stokes, Lincoln Laboratory

What are asteroids like? Where did they come from? What happened when large asteroids hit the earth in the past? How can we detect and prevent large asteroids from hitting the earth in the future? Come and find out!

Two identical shows will be at 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Note these Sunday demonstrations are an hour later than our Saturday times.

Register for Session 1 - 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Sunday, April 7
Register for Session 2 - 11:45 to 1:15 p.m., Sunday, April 7

Radar

June 1, 2013
Speaker: Alan Fenn, Lincoln Laboratory

Have you seen a weather report, flown on an airplane, or wondered how we know the speed of a pitch at a Red Sox game? All of these are done using radar! What is radar? What are microwaves? How do we get information from microwaves? A demonstration of radar systems and discussion of microwave propagation will show how radar works and what can be sensed/measured using radar. Registration will open May 2013.

Chemistry Show

October 5, 2013
Speaker: Dr. Roderick Kunz, Lincoln Laboratory

Chemical reactions make all sorts of products that we use, and chemical reactions even run our own bodies. Come see or volunteer to help with a variety of fun chemical reactions, including reactions that change colors, oscillate back and forth, and produce light. Registration will begin in September 2013.

Hands-On Science

December 7, 2013
Speakers: Lincoln Laboratory Technical Women's Network (LLTWN)

This event features hands-on activity stations where students can experiment with colors of light, separate chemicals using chromatography, test buoyancy of model boats and submarines, and simulate missile launches. Registration will open in November 2013.

Robotics

February 1, 2014
Speaker: Members of Robotics Outreach at Lincoln Laboratory (ROLL)

You've seen robots in movies, but what can real robots do? What kinds of robots can you buy now? How can you build your own robot? Participants will meet a champion competition robot in person and control its movements! Registration will open in January 2014.

Chimpanzees

April 6, 2014
Speaker: Dr. Zarin Machanda, Harvard Primatologist

Come learn about chimpanzees, the closest relatives of humans. How are chimps similar to and different from humans? We will have fun video clips of chimpanzees in the wild, and volunteers can help with demonstrations on stage. Registration will open in March 2014.

Lasers and Optics

June 1, 2014
Speaker: Chuck Wynn, Lincoln Laboratory

This show demonstrates the properties of optics, lasers, and light. How can you bend light? What are lasers good for? Why is the sky blue? What are fiber optics? What can a Slinky teach you about polarization? Find out at this amazing light show! Registration will open in May 2014.

Past Events

Robotics

February 2, 2013
Presented by: Members of Robotics Outreach at Lincoln Laboratory (ROLL)

Spy Science

December 1, 2012
Presented by: Lincoln Laboratory New Employees Network

Most of us have probably imagined what it would be like to be a spy—but is being a spy really all it is cracked up to be? Many spy jobs involve secretly but patiently collecting, interpreting, and verifying information. We will demonstrate technology that can be used to gather intelligence for a specific mission including: voice recognition and identification, detection and tracking, and cryptography.

Dinosaurs, Paleontologists, & Other Old Fossils

October 13, 2012
Speaker: Dr. Todd Rider, Lincoln Laboratory

What animals and plants lived at different times in the earth's past? What wiped out the dinosaurs? How did humans originate? Could we use cloning to bring dinosaurs back to life as in the Jurassic Park movies? Come handle real fossils that are millions of years old, and volunteer to help with our demonstrations on stage.

Radio Astronomy

June 2, 2012
Speakers: Philip Erickson and Vincent Fish of MIT Haystack Observatory

In addition to the visible colors of light that the human eye can see, astronomers observe radio waves that are naturally produced by cosmic sources including stars, black holes, and even the big bang. Atmospheric scientists also use radio waves, created with powerful transmitters, to study the charged upper levels of Earth's atmosphere and the effects of space weather. Come learn more about radio waves and how scientists at MIT Haystack Observatory use them to study the atmosphere and the universe, and volunteer to help with fun demonstrations on stage!

Radar

March 31, 2012
Speaker: Alan Fenn, Lincoln Laboratory

Have you seen the weather report, flown on an airplane, or wondered how sports broadcasters know the speed of a pitch at a Red Sox game. All of this is done using radar. What is radar? What are microwaves? How do we determine information by using microwaves? A unique interactive demonstration of actual radar systems and discussion of microwave propagation showed how radar works and what can be sensed or measured using radar.

Spy Science

February 4, 2012
Speakers: Jessica Holland and the Lincoln Laboratory New Employees' Network

Most of us have probably imagined what it would be like to be a spy — but is being a spy really all it is cracked up to be? Many spy jobs involve secretly, but patiently, collecting, interpreting, and verifying information. We demonstrated technology used to gather intelligence for a specific mission including: voice recognition and identification, detection and tracking, and cryptography.