Community Outreach
Hands-On Engineering Design Activities
By participating in hands-on engineering design activities, children learned engineering concepts through constructing paper airplanes, gumdrop towers, aluminum foil boats, and straw cantilevers.
Science on Saturday
Science on Saturday events began in 2005 under a new initiative to emphasize educational outreach to K–12 students. These fun, free science demonstrations at Lincoln Laboratory and are given several times each school year by our
scientists and engineers. All local community K–12 students, their parents,
and their teachers are welcome to attend. Please see our schedule for more recent events and upcoming demonstrations.
Archives
Hands-On Engineering Design Activities
December 1, 2007
Hosted and supervised by Lincoln Laboratory engineers.
Participants learned engineering concepts through four different projects. Children learned about tension and compression by building gumdrop towers with structural integrity. The concepts of flight, lift, gravity, thrust, and drag were tested by designing different types of paper airplanes and measuring their flight distance. The relationship between buoyancy and displacement was proven by various designs of aluminum foil boats filled with strategically-placed pennies and styrofoam. With 25 straws and 1.5 feet of masking tape, children practiced building cantilever bridges applying the principles of torque and center of mass.
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Towers using gumdrops and toothpicks |  |
Paper airplanes |
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Boats using aluminum foil for holding pennies |  |
Cantilevers using straws |
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Plasma and Ions
May 12, 2007
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Siegel, Lincoln Laboratory
Presentation Slides (pdf)
What are plasma and ions and where do they exist? Find out how ions are generated in YOU, and what common household items use the power of ions, as well as how this power is used for scientific purposes.
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Lasers and Optics
February 10, 2007
Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Roth, Lincoln Laboratory
The Lasers and Optics show demonstrates the properties of optics, lasers, and light. What's the difference between red, blue, and green lasers? What happens when a laser shines through water? What can a slinky teach you about polarization? What are "fiber optics"? Find out at this amazing light show!
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Chemistry Magic Show
December 9, 2006
Speaker: Dr. Roderick Kunz, Lincoln Laboratory
This chemistry demonstration surprises children and adults alike. Can a chemical burn green? Which chemical changes color and changes back over and over again as long as it is heated? This chemistry show will answer these questions and more!
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Properties and Applications of Sound Waves
October 14, 2006
Speaker: Robert Haupt, Lincoln Laboratory
Discover how sound works and why soundwaves are used in a laboratory environment. How does sound travel? Is there sound in space? Can a laser "record" sound? Find out how human vocal chords work and use our software to transform your voice to male, female, child, or adult! You'll hear like never before!
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Electricity & Magnetism
June 3, 2006
Speaker: Paul "Mr. "Magnet" Thomas, MIT
Can you "feel" magnetism? How do magnets and electricity work together? Mr. Magnet shows children just how strong a magnet can be, and how that power can be harnessed for scientific purposes.
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Cryogenics & Liquid Nitrogen Demonstrations
March 18, 2005
Speaker: Dr. Richard Williamson, Lincoln Laboratory
This popular demonstration amazes everyone with feats of freezing. Can you freeze a balloon? What does liquid nitrogen look like? How cold is "cold"? Learn which items freeze or defrost fastest and why cryogenics are helpful in a laboratory.
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