A giant game of Operation among activities at Mag Lab open house
An opportunity to get a closer look at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory returns this weekend after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The one-day open house features nearly 100 demonstrations, all designed to inform, inspire and spark the wow factor while offering a glimpse into the world of magnetic technologies.
Mag Lab spokeswoman Kristen Roberts said this year's event is one of the largest in recent years, adding attendees can expect to see some of the lab's staple demonstrations and game-inspired activities for residents of all ages.
"I think it will have all of the aspects that people loved about open house in the past: the opportunity to explore the world's largest and highest powered magnet lab and to meet our amazing brilliant, fun scientists, students and staff," Roberts said.
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Throughout the year, the Tallahassee-based location hosts researchers from thousands of universities, labs and businesses worldwide who use high field magnets and other features unique to the lab to test their theories and concepts.
The open house offers access to the facility that may be otherwise closed off to the public during regular day-to-day operations.
This year's open house will be a game-themed event stemming from popular games, including board games, video games and television shows. In addition, a special series of game shows will be housed at the 45 Tesla hybrid magnet, the world's strongest magnet.
It also will feature some of the lab's greatest hits: the quarter shrinker, potato launcher that launches spuds 200 miles per hour, cryo flowers and Einstein's ice cream made from liquid nitrogen.
"We'll also be playing a giant game of Operation, where people will get to kind of learn more about how our powerful MRI magnets can actually see aspects of the body that aren't visible with less powerful MRIs," Roberts said.
Located at Innovation Park, the national Mag Lab headquarters is part of Florida State University and funded through state and federal dollars from the National Science Foundation. It has two other sister sites at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the Los Alamos National Lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Mag Lab Open House information
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 25
Where: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Headquarters, 1800 E. Paul Dirac Drive
Admission: Free
For more information, go to nationalmaglab.org/
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Mag Lab hosting 2023 open house
