Local middle school students gather around two experienced demonstrators to learn a physics experiment in the John S. Toll Physics building at the University of Maryland on February 22, 2020. Students were divided into four groups to learn different quantum physics experiments throughout the program. Photo by Lauren Rosh.

By Lauren Rosh

Families from nearby communities eagerly filled a lecture hall in the John S. Toll Physics Building to experience the wonders of physics on Feb.22. 

After being advertised at local middle schools through flyers, students and parents spent their time on the University of Maryland campus watching four different demonstrations in a program called “Quantum for Kids,” which exposed them to quantum physics. 

Tyler McDonnell, a Maryland graduate and the organizer of the event, said that the idea behind hosting an activity like this is that it “helps kids wrap their minds around the concepts earlier on so when they get to it they can understand it all much clearer.” 

Before beginning the demonstrations, there was a brief discussion where the students were asked about in what ways they have been exposed to quantum before. Students’ hands shot up as they listed ways they have seen quantum in their everyday lives and in school such as smartphones. 

Each of the children were then given a color-coded passport that indicated which room and demonstration they would be starting in. Students were divided into four groups and started experiencing one of four quantum concepts: LED lights, a double slit experiment, super conductors and black body radiation. 

All of the stations were led by either UMD faculty or undergraduate students. Parents appreciated that there was a wide range of experience teaching their middle schoolers about physics. 

“It was very cool that two of the stations were run by undergraduates,” Robin Ofner, a test prep tutor from Clarksburg, Maryland, said.

She felt it was an effective technique to use as opposed to having “super geniuses” lead the program. Having undergraduates made the information feel a lot more accessible to the students. 

An undergraduate student led the session in the LED room. In this portion, each of the students received a light and were presented with a light-sensitive paper. The students were able to draw different shapes, names and squiggly lines to really see the magic of the LED. 

“It is really nice that they are letting the kids be hands-on and not just having them watch,” Ofner said. This sentiment seemed to be shared by many of the parents, smiling as they watched their children create different images with their lights. 

Oohs and ahhs continued from onlooking students as the group leader placed a superconductor into a cup of liquid nitrogen. Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity without any resistance meaning after sitting in the liquid nitrogen, it appeared to levitate over a box.

Daughter of Robin Ofner and middle schooler Parker Ofner, 13, said her favorite part of the day was “the liquid nitrogen experiment because it is fun to do hands-on science experiments.”

Parker was drawn to the event because she has “always had interest in science and since it was aimed at middle school kids, it would be on par with what I am learning,” she said. 

At the end of the event, when the families were brought back together in a lecture hall, the students and parents were asked to raise their hands on which event was their favorite. The LED demonstration and superconductor demonstration were the overwhelming favorites. 

McDonnell said that quantum is something that should be taught more and that he has even spoken to people who have said that “children should know quantum from when they come out of the room.”