S'Cool LAB Cloud Chamber Workshops

S'Cool LAB Cloud Chamber workshops were extremely popular for high school students visiting CERN, allowing them to get hands-on, build a particle detector, observe particle tracks, and learn about particle physics.

Format

After a brief introductory talk on the history of cloud chambers, students are instructed in how to build a cloud chamber by a S'Cool LAB Tutor - a specially-trained volunteer from CERN's scientific community. Working in small groups of 2-4 participants each, students then proceed to build their own cloud chambers. The main part of the workshop time is then dedicated to watching the tracks of particles made visible by the chamber, as the tutor goes from group to group to discuss the students' observations. Next comes the clean-up phase (students are taught to be responsible users of a lab environment), before a group discussion facilitated by the tutor. The sessions in S'Cool LAB last 75-90 minutes in total.

Preparing your students

A collection of resources about CERN and the  Cloud Chamber Workshop is available on the Prepare your students page.

Cloud Chambers in your classroom

If you are interested in building cloud chambers in your classroom, have a look at our cloud chamber classroom material.