Igniting the Orbitron: Breakout Activity

This table-top escape room activity will have your students thinking and collaborating while solving challenges related to particle physics. The challenges are connected to real particle physics experiments around the world and build toward turning on a new fictitious particle accelerator called the Orbitron. You can pick and choose from the challenges based on your classroom needs. An online version of this activity is also provided, with a link to a Google Form. The online version requires no setup and can be run right away. 

DESY (Quarks) 

Students determine the charge, type, and strangeness of a quark. 

INO (Standard Model) 

Students organize particles in the standard model into different categories. 

SLAC (Feynman Diagrams) 

Students match Feynman diagrams to descriptions of physical processes. 

ATLAS (Collisions and Momentum) 

Students solve for momentum vectors in proton-proton collisions in the ATLAS detector at the LHC, which is searching for dark matter candidates. 

PICO (Bubble Chamber) 

Students match bubble chamber tracks to determine the code. 

Super-K (Cherenkov Rings) 

Students use trigonometry and equations to analyze Cherenkov rings. 

Orbitron (Lorentz’s Law) 

Students make a calculation to determine the magnetic field strength of a new particle accelerator.