On Friday, May 2, the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) brought the wonders of the subatomic world to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History’s “Micro May” First Friday event. The evening, themed around the science of the small, featured SCIPP researchers engaging the public with insights into gravitational lensing and particle collisions.

SCIPP director Jason Nielsen, research physicist Simone Mazza, and first-year Ph.D. student Anna Kinderman represented the institute. They discussed how massive cosmic structures bend light—a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing—and shared details about the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, where particles are accelerated to near-light speeds and brought to collision in order to probe the fundamental constituents of matter.

The event was part of SCIPP’s ongoing commitment to community outreach, aiming to make complex physics accessible and engaging. Attendees had the opportunity to interact directly with scientists, ask questions, and gain a deeper understanding of the universe’s most fundamental processes.

“Micro May” continues throughout the month, celebrating the intricate and often overlooked aspects of the natural world. SCIPP’s participation underscores the institute’s dedication to education and public engagement, bringing cutting-edge research into the community spotlight.

For more information about SCIPP’s research and outreach programs, visit scipp.ucsc.edu.