Build Your Own Particle Detector

To support the outreach activities of Atlas institutes and to grab people's attention in science exhibitions and during public events, we have created both a very detailed model of the experiment built entirely out of about Lego bricks as well as an outreach programme using Lego bricks to get people to think about particle detectors and involve them into a conversation about particle physics in general. A large Lego model, consisting of about 9500 pieces, has been 'exported' to more than 55 Atlas institutes and has been used in numerous exhibitions to explain the proportion and composition of the experiment to the public. As part of 'Build Your Own Particle Detector' programme (byopd.org) we conducted more than 15 events,either involving a competition to design and build the 'best' particle detector from a random pile of pieces or to take part in the construction of one of the large models, as part of a full day outreach event. Recently we've added miniature models of all four LHC experiments, that will be used at various outreach events in the future. The talk will introduce the basic concept of the project, provide a recipe to conduct your own event and give and overview of ideas to extend the effort.