2024 Open House Information

Discover your love of science at the Jefferson Lab 2024 Open House!

Jefferson Lab’s next open house event will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Event hours are 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

The event provides the public with an ideal opportunity to explore this world-class research facility and features entry into research areas; demonstrations; and numerous exhibits and hands-on activities. During your visit, you can learn about superconducting materials, supercomputers, particle accelerators, particle detectors, nuclear physics research and much more!

Admission is free and so is parking. Event parking will open at 8:30 a.m. on June 8, and it is located at Canon Virginia, 12000 Canon Blvd. in Newport News. Newport News Police will direct traffic on Canon Blvd., and signs will direct visitors to event parking. All visitors must plan to park at the Canon parking lot and ride the special event bus to Jefferson Lab. Buses will shuttle visitors continuously from the Canon parking lot to Jefferson Lab (about a minute bus ride) from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. The last bus will depart the Canon parking for the Jefferson Lab Open House at 2 p.m. After 2 p.m., buses will only return visitors to the Canon parking lot.

Limited public parking for those visitors who have a disabled parking placard or license plate may be accessed at 12000 Jefferson Ave. on the day of the event. The placard or plate must be fully visible to access this limited on-site parking.

Visitors are welcome to take photos and videos.

For additional parking information or for Open House information, please email openhouse@jlab.org

• Review the program under "Things to do" in the weeks leading up to the event. More information will be added as it becomes available.
• Dress comfortably. The event involves extended periods of walking, and many tour stops include stairs. Much of the event is outdoors, so check the weather and dress appropriately. We suggest sunscreen and comfortable, flat, closed-toe shoes.
• Review the material under the Driving, Parking and Walking Directions and Other Information.

What is Jefferson Lab?

The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is a world-leading nuclear physics research facility sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

Research at Jefferson Lab is expanding humankind's knowledge of the universe by studying sub-atomic particles known as quarks and gluons. These building blocks of matter combine to form the protons and neutrons found in the atom's nucleus. To learn more, scientists have embarked on a journey of discovery into the heart of matter using Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility.

CEBAF acts like a giant microscope, using a highly focused beam of electrons to probe matter. It does this by propelling an electron beam at nearly the speed of light into targets located in the lab's four experimental halls. When the beam strikes a target, these interactions are recorded and studied. These incredibly powerful electron beams and unique detector systems allows scientists to "see" things a million times smaller than an atom.

To understand the information collected during these experiments, Jefferson Lab scientists develop theoretical models and carry out sophisticated computerized simulations of the interactions. Integrating experimental results and cutting-edge theories helps scientists gain a better understanding of the building blocks of matter and the forces binding them together.

Jefferson Lab actively shares its expertise in core areas with other national labs and industry to advance critical technologies to benefit the nation. For instance, the nation’s next large-scale particle collider, the Electron-Ion Collider, is being constructed at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York in partnership with Jefferson Lab. The lab has also contributed its unique expertise toward projects to upgrade the world's brightest X-ray free-electron laser for research at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California and the world's most intense source of neutrons for research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Today, the lab is expanding its scientific mission in the computational and data sciences as it leads the development of the High Performance Data Facility (HPDF), a first-of-its-kind resource for data-intensive science and research. Learn about how the new facility will add world-class capabilities to the nation’s computing ecosystem and form a cornerstone of the DOE’s Integrated Research Infrastructure initiative. The HPDF mission is to enable and accelerate scientific discovery with state-of-the-art data management infrastructure, capabilities, and tools.

The lab invests in the next-generation STEM workforce, including significant efforts to ensure underrepresented students have opportunities to learn about and pursue STEM careers. Its dedicated research facilities enable one-third of U.S. Ph.D.s in nuclear physics annually, and its outreach programs positively impact thousands of students and teachers while helping them build critical knowledge and skills for a brighter future.

Take a sneak peek around the lab before you visit! Check out virtual tours of select lab spaces here.

• Watch liquid nitrogen demonstrations in the auditorium, ongoing throughout the event. Check out this and other exhibits that are appropriate for kids of all ages in this feature story.
• Discover science ‘magic’ you can do at home with featured hands-on STEM activities presented by the lab’s Science Education department.
• Meet with our recruiters to discuss how you can contribute to our amazing discoveries.
• Visit our Data Center to learn how we use our supercomputers for science, while keeping them safe with cyber security.
• Watch nuclear physics experiment detector and data collection technologies in action and touch real components, such as crystals and special types of transparent plastics that make up the heart of nuclear physics experimental instruments.. See how nuclear physics particle detectors are constructed and used with advanced electronics and computers to be the physicists’ “eyes” in experiments. Witness an operating detector system capturing cosmic rays in real time as they zip along.
• Meet middle school, high school and college-level students and see and interact with the robots they designed and built.
  
  • The Tabb Middle School team competes in the FIRST Lego League, where they are challenged to build and program a LEGO robot to navigate a playing field and complete a number of robotic challenges during a timed match. This year's game focuses on how to use art and technology to express your hobbies and interests.
  • The NASA Knights and Triple Helix Robotics are two award-winning local teams that competes in the varsity-level FIRST Robotics Competition for high-schoolers. NASA Knights is based at the Butler Farm campus of New Horizons Regional Education Center in Hampton, and Triple Helix is a community team meeting in central Newport News. The FIRST Robotics Competition joins together students and professionals from local industry as they design and build 150+ lb robots to play a points-based game. This year's game required alliances of three teams to manipulate foam hoops.
  • A William & Mary physics student and Jefferson Lab student intern designed and built a Computer Center Inspection Robot that enables remote monitoring of equipment in the lab’s Data Center.
• Learn how the lab is protecting natural resources by reducing our environmental footprint (and get ideas on how you can reduce your environmental impact). Join members of the lab's Sustainability and Environmental Management teams as they highlight what Jefferson Lab is doing to protect our natural resources and reduce our environmental footprint. Explore ideas you can use to impact plastics and the environment, local water quality, and reducing your energy use.
• Explore how archivists are preserving history by transforming old media to new, and take a deep dive into the lab’s 40-year history. Explore how old forms of media, such as photo negatives, cassette tapes, floppy disks, and even physical records are converted into digital forms for long-term preservation. Try your hand at preserving history using modern methods. And explore the lab’s large-format historical displays and leaf through scrapbooks of Jefferson Lab's early history to see how the institution has evolved over time. Also on hand, pick and prod different types of radiation shielding formulated specifically by lab staff for use on-site in our experimental halls.

• The Measurement of a Lepton-Lepton Electroweak Reaction Experiment, or MOLLER experiment, will probe the electrons inside matter to make a precise measurement of the electron’s weak charge. See the partially assembled magnet coil already installed in its space frame, along with additional prototype coils. Investigate up close the special material being used to build the experiment’s spectrometer systems. Watch as engineers power up one of the individual magnets and carefully measure its field using specially built micro-Tesla measurement devices.
• The SoLID experiment will be able to make high precision measurements to study the three-dimensional structures of the proton and neutron, the mystery of the origins of the proton’s mass, and search for new interactions beyond our current understanding of the universe’s fundamental forces. See a 3D model of the SoLID apparatus and learn how the detectors are being developed.

GETTING AROUND

• Shuttle buses continuously loop around the Jefferson Lab campus and designated off-site parking lots to connect guests to marked exhibits.
• You can also walk the entire tour route on your own; it is approximately a two-mile loop.
• The Accelerator Tunnel and Experimental Halls are not handicap accessible.
• Exhibit locations with access by steep incline or stairs are denoted on map with a stairs icon.
• Motorized assistance vehicles will be located around the site to help transport visitors with mobility limitations, as available.

Pedestrians: Individuals planning to walk onto Jefferson Lab for the open house are asked to enter the lab by using the crosswalks at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Tech Center Parkway and then follow the marked pedestrian path to the Welcome Tent.

DRIVING AND PARKING DIRECTIONS

Other Useful Information

What to Bring
Bring your camera or smart phone device; photos and video-recording are permitted. Wear sturdy, comfortable walking shoes, and sunscreen and sun glasses or a rimmed hat and protective clothing (a long-sleeved shirt to act as sun screen). Carry some pocket money in case you should want to purchase refreshments from food vendors.

Empty, personal-use water bottles may be brought onto lab property and filled with water from water fountains and building taps.

Food Vendors: 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Food vendor listing will be added at a later date. Vendors will accept debit/credit cards for purchases.

Not Permitted
Alcohol, firearms, weapons, knives, explosives and any illegal materials, or pets.

For your safety:
Jefferson Lab is dedicated to safety in all our activities. Observance of a few rules and safety precautions will make the 2024 Open House more enjoyable for everyone:

• Jefferson Lab hosts will be present to respond to questions and to assist with first-aid needs or to contact emergency medical services.
• In case of serious illness, injury or vehicle accident, our medical staff will be on site.