On May 14, 2024, a group of 12 students, accompanied by Emilie Hein, Denise Hum, Benjamin Lam, and Marco Wehrfritz, toured the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, in Menlo Park, CA. The Physics and Astronomy Club (PAC) and the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program at Skyline College, organized the field trip.
The tour started in the Science and User Support Building, followed by a visit to the Klystron Gallery to check out the two-mile-long hallway of Klystrons that sits atop the linear accelerator. The guides then took the group to visit the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) Experimental Halls and shared updates about the LSST camera being completed at SLAC and on its way to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile (LSST Camera arrives at Rubin Observatory in Chile, paving the way for cosmic exploration). The visit ended at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) with the Vizlab, a demonstration of 3D short videos of dark matter and dark energy.
Exploring SLAC and the cutting-edge science happening there was inspiring. It was also a great opportunity to hear about various careers in STEM. This was the second time PAC and MESA organized the tour for Skyline College students, and they are already looking forward to another visit next year.
Photo credit: Emilie Hein
Article by: Emilie Hein, Denise Hum, Benjamin Lam, Marco Wehrfritz
