Physicists from the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics participated in the First Friday community science event at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. The event on Friday, June 6 was sponsored as “Genome June.”

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.

SCIPP researchers Katie Hellier, Simone Mazza, and Jason Nielsen were on hand to answer questions and demonstrate science apparatus. A highlight was the demonstration of a silicon photomultiplier attached to a scintillating crystal particle detector. Participants could see the real-time electronics pulses on an oscilloscope and view the amplifier circuit.

Stay tuned for the next outreach event at SCMNH in 2026.