In partnership with the Museum of Idaho, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) of Idaho Falls presented "Energy Synergy," the 2006 installment of the Laboratory's annual fall Science and Engineering Exposition. For the second year, LIGO Hanford Observatory attended with a number of hands-on activities and informational displays. LIGO was one of roughly forty organizations that participated in the Expo. Middle level students from schools across the region engaged in a wide variety of physical science, life science, earth science, meteorology, engineering and technology experiences, provided by the exhibitors, over the Expo's three-day run.

The Expo's featured presentation turned the spotlight on Illinois teacher Lee Merak of Weird Science fame and Dr. Steve Shropshire of Idaho State University as they presented the "Traveling Science Roadshow," a collection of amazing and amusing demonstrations that probed the boundary between science and entertainment. Readers may remember Merak's near-annihilation of David Letterman in a mountain of foam and fire extinguisher discharge in a Letterman show from several years ago. Expo exhibitors became accustomed to the periodic reverberations of Merak's hydrogen explosions throughout the day.

The Expo drew an audience of thousands and culminated with Family Day, a chance for parents to acquire a dose of hands-on science along with their children. Event organizers, including Lori Priest of INL's Office of Communications and Public Affairs, met the challenge of providing sufficient space for the Expo by utilizing an empty home improvement warehouse in Idaho Falls. The venue provided more than enough elbow room for the guests and exhibitors. Cold and grey Idaho Falls skies predicted that snow was around the corner, a prediction that was partially met by the passing of a vigorous hailstorm midway through the Expo.