RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - The Sanford Underground Research Facility and partner organizations hosted the 18th annual Neutrino Day in Lead on Saturday, offering free, hands-on science activities and talks to people of all ages.
The citywide festival took place at multiple locations, including the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, the Homestake Opera House, and the Handley Center. Attendees could explore more than 40 interactive booths and exhibits, attend talks, and speak directly with scientists.
Scientists from around the country and world were available to answer questions and interact with attendees.
“Interacting with a lot of young people here is very inspiring,” said Vishvas Pandey, an associate scientist at FermiLab. “The curiosity. And who knows, the next generation of engineers and scientists come from the backyard here and can lead those discoveries in the next few years and decades.”
Pandey also noted the collaborative nature of the event. “Science is not done in a vacuum, it’s done by the people. It’s done by the community, right?” he said.
Kelly Kirk, director of the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, said the event offers a rare window into ongoing research. “There is something so wonderful about being able to show the big questions that are still being asked and answered through science,” Kirk said.
South Dakota Mines students provided free liquid nitrogen ice cream to help attendees beat the heat.
“I think the fact that we’re using liquid nitrogen to cool it makes it really cool to see,” said Jacob, a South Dakota Mines student. “We do it right in front of them so you can see all the smoke from the liquid nitrogen go off, and I think it just goes home that this is a big celebration of science and that’s what we’re here for, is for science.”
Fellow student Shawn said the process also improves the product. “Since it is negative 320, the ice crystals are way smaller than what you normally get with ice cream so it’s going to feel a lot smoother and a lot nicer when you eat it,” Shawn said.
Ann Metli, communications director for SURF, said the visitor center provides ongoing learning opportunities beyond Neutrino Day.
“There’s many many hands on learning opportunities at the visitor center, plus it gives a great history of the mining and then the science that happened early starting in the 1960s and the science happening today,” Metli said.
Metli also pointed to the long-term future of science at the site. “We have a 30 year commitment from the Department of Energy to continue doing science here and with some of the experiments that we’re trying to bring here we anticipate at least another 50 years of work being done here,” she said.
Neutrino Day is held annually on the second Saturday of July. “It’s always the second Saturday in July, so people can count on coming next year the second Saturday of July, and it’s just a great opportunity for us to share science, share all the awesome things we have to offer families here,” Metli said.
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