Oklahoma QuarkNet - 2020 Annual Report

Oklahoma QuarkNet - 2020 Annual Report

The pandemic put a damper on the spring Masterclasses this year, but we still had a very successful summer workshop for teachers.  We took the summer workshop virtual, using Zoom to connect with seven high school teachers for three half-days of activities.  The agenda (https://quarknet.org/content/2020-quarknet-workshop-osu) focused on the QuarkNet STEP-UP activities and we owe a huge thank you to Shane Wood, Penny Blue, and Mike Fetsko, who led the STEP-UP activities.  All of the teachers found the activities relevant and useful and many have already implemented components in their (virtual) classrooms this fall. 

Figure 1. The closest thing to a group photo for the virtual summer workshop.

Figure 2.  A screenshot from one of the brainstorming activities.

We look forward to next year when we hope to be able to resume the ATLAS Masterclasses for students.  We thank the NSF for the funding of the QuarkNet program!  Teachers and students in Oklahoma do not have much exposure to basic research and QuarkNet has been one of our most successful tools for getting high school students engaged in and excited about physics. 

Thank you to everyone involved for making 2020 a huge success. 

John Stupak (OU)

Joe Haley (OSU) 

Report as PDF