Outreach Project - OSA Activity Grant 2005/2006

"Hands on Experience with Photonics"
at Pomona High School, Arvada, Colorado

This project was designed and carried out by Mr. Randy Albrandt, distinguished Pomona High School Teacher and was conducted at the Arvada Pomona High School January - April 2006. The activity grant was coordinated by Dr. Dirk Richter, OSA President Elect. A few photographs are posted here.

Description: The materials funded by OSA have been used for a project in a seminar class on photonics. The basic premise in the class is learning about lasers and laser applications. Students research different applications of lasers as well as learning about the operation of lasers. Students then use lasers to do a series of labs the investigate laser characteristics, properties of reflection, wave interference, and diffraction. The final project involves building a laser show from the ground up. Students are asked to design, build, and refine laser stations that will project a variety of patterns onto the screen. They also create and incorporate graphics, sound, and video into the show. This involves a lot of team building skills as well as letting them apply what they learned about lasers and optical properties in a practical way.

Number of affected students:
- 29 students in the seminar program
- 500 students, the laser show is shown to students in Chemistry, 9th grade students, and the gifted and talented students at the middle school.

Eligibility: This program is only open to students after they have completed four core science classes at the high school. The intent of the showing is to motivate students to do a four year science program. Also, it shows students a fun and practical application of complex ideas in Physics.


2007