LIGO in Your Classroom

[explore] We invite you to request a classroom lesson on an aspect of LIGO science. Our NBPTS-certified outreach coordinator can visit your school with materials and plans for the activities listed below, and these can be tailored to point to specific objectives that you may wish to address. Some teachers have requested this service prior to a LIGO field trip while others have used it to help develop a 'science in the real world' context for units on physics, earth science, astronomy or geometry.


Choose from our Lesson Menu

  • LIGO 101  Slides, computer simulations, demonstrations and experimentation with our tabletop interferometer will acquaint students with LIGO's science mission and with our 2.5-mile detector. Suitable for middle and high school students

  • Capture Some Waves  Several of our favorite activities. Waves are everywhere but are usually invisible. How can we measure them? Lots of hands-on with microphones, signal generators, oscilloscopes, tuning forks and the scientist's secret weapon -- Jello. Suitable for middle and high school students

  • Safe Solar Viewing  Solar viewing through LIGO's portable H-alpha solar telescope. Students are often amazed at the features the sun displays. The lesson is supplemented by several mini-experiments with prisms and lenses. Suitable for all levels

  • Cold Enough to Freeze  Ice is cold, dry ice is colder and liquid nitrogen is very cold. LIGO requires liquid nitrogen to maintain the purity of its ultra-high vacuum. This lesson emphasizes heat transfer and phase changes in materials. Less hands-on for the students (warm fingers are happy fingers), but vivid demonstrations. Suitable for all levels

  • Geometry in Science  LIGO's science framework is built around geometry, both in the operation of our detector and in General Relativity, the theory of space and time that predicts the reality of gravitational waves. Students perform a set of activities that combine to say "Yes, math is important." Suitable for upper middle and high school students

  • Sizes in Space  How big are objects in the sky, and how far are they from us? Young students are asked to exercise their imaginations and counting ability in this activity that emphasizes scale.Suitable for levels K-3.

Make an inquiry about LIGO in your classroom by calling our outreach coordinator at 509-372-8300 ext 248 or by sending an email

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Last modified January 6, 2006
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LIGO is supported by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation