Free physics camp stimulates minds

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Zamaria Rocio earned the respect of science teachers from across the U.S. when she rode a Greyhound Lines Inc., bus for more than two days from San Diego to East Lansing, just to get to physics camp.

Rocio, a middle school science teacher from San Diego, was one of 15 teachers who attended the Physics of Atomic Nuclei Program, or PAN, from Monday through Friday at the Cyclotron at MSU to learn about nuclear physics, research and classroom applications.

“Summer is my time is for learning,” Rocio said. “I expect my students to learn and if I ask that of my students, I expect that of myself.”

PAN — the Cyclotron’s biggest outreach program — also offers nearly the same camp for high school students next week, Aug. 9-13, said Zach Constan, the Cyclotron’s outreach coordinator.

“There are an amazing number of students out there who are just excited about nuclear physics, and this is the opportunity they’re looking for,” Constan said.

There were about 90 applications for 24 student spots, which is indicative of the growing interest, Constan said.

The camp, funded by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, is free and provides room and board at Shaw Hall for teachers and students whose only cost is transportation.

“The goal is to find a student who is so crazy about science that they’re taking every class available to them,” Constan said. “Teachers are so frustrated that (students are) always asking questions that (the teachers) can’t answer.”

The student week will bring the camp’s first international students — one from the United Kingdom and one from France — said David McCreight, a PAN consultant and physics teacher at Lansing’s Eastern High School who said the interest will continue to increase.

“It’s really about exciting the next generation of possible researchers,” McCreight said. “It’s what we want to have: more future students thinking about either research in that area or getting interested in science in a positive way.”

Both the teachers and students go to a series of lectures, demonstrations and tours and do research involving cosmic rays, which eventually leads to presenting a poster with findings at the end of the week, McCreight said.

Rocio, who has been teaching for more than 25 years, said she is strong in life and earth sciences, but has shied away from physics.

“My background is not the same as the others, so I am literally learning every second,” Rocio said. “I need to keep current and I thought this was a great opportunity.”

Emily Finchum, a high school science teacher from Chicago, came for the sake of her own learning and to get ideas for teaching her students.

Finchum is the sole teacher in the science department of her about 400-student high school, and she teaches biology, chemistry and physics.

“It’s always fun to get a bunch of science people together because we are all such giant nerds and there’s no stigma or judgment,” Finchum said.

For Constan, PAN is the best two weeks of his summer.

“I love having students come because it’s like when you’re among people who all speak the same language,” Constan said. “They’re all excited about science and they want to know everything — I just can’t answer their questions fast enough.”

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