1. Use of Cosmic Ray eLab to Teach the Research Process Deborah Roudebush Oakton High School 2900 Sutton Road Vienna, VA 22181 AAPT 2009 Winter Meeting February 15, 2009 Chicago, Illinois

2. What is QuarkNet? http://quarknet.fnal.gov/ QuarkNet provides professional development and on-going support for physics teachers

3. My Role in QuarkNet Lead Teacher Hampton University Center –2000 – Present –Conduct research at Hampton University –Work with teachers to develop lessons on particle physics for the classroom –Work high school students with research projects related to Particle Physics

4. What is eLab?

5. Muon Detectors in High Schools

6. Oakton High School Bringing teachers and students together as researchers…

7. Some were Experimentalists… Muon detector construction underway at Oakton High School:

8. …and Some Were Theorists Tutorial in data mining using muon data stored in eLab:

9. Calibrating Students performed the calibration studies on the Oakton High School Muon Detector:

10. Uploading Data Data collected overnight and uploaded via eLab:

11. Running a Performance Study Performance study to determine if the our data should be “blessed”:

12. Using Flux Studies Flux studies are important for developing research questions:

13. Science Fair Projects Christina and Richa are studying flux as a function of altitude and ground temperature : Scott is in charge of calibration and “Blessing Data”: Rachel is studying Flux vs Time of Day

14. Long Term Runs Goal: Run 24/7 and upload every three to five days Teams of students responsible for uploading and “blessing” data Students develop sophistication in data mining and develop significant research questions such as the possible role of muon activity in triggering thunder storms

15. The Future Detectors in more schools in Fairfax County, VA, to establish a detection grid for shower studies Develop collaboration groups for students across the county and across the country Provide opportunities for high school students to be directly involved in new research.

16. Deborah.Roudebush@fcps.edu Oakton High School 2900 Sutton Road Vienna, VA 22181