Contact outreach@physics.utoronto.ca to arrange a school visit.
We can arrange tours, talks and workshops.
Market Lane Public School - February 2024
On February 27, 2024, grade 8 students from the Market Lane Public School attended the Starburst Rock Cycle workshop by Prof. Daniel Gregory from the Department of Earth Sciences. This was followed by a guided tour of the campus.
Huron Heights Secondary School - February 2024
On February 23, 2024 grade 11 and 12 students from Huron Heights Secondary School attended a workshop on "Laser Diffraction" by Prof. Brian Wilson, followed by cool physics experiments in the lab with Professor Ania Harlick. This was followed by a campus tour.
Greenwood College - November 2023
On November 9, 2023, students in grade 11 and 12 from Greenwood College visited the Department for an activity on light by graduate student Joscelyn van der Veen, followed by a first-year lab tour by Prof. Ania Harlick.
Avondale Alternative Elementary School - June 2023
On June 6, 2023, students in grade 7 and 8 from Avondale Alternative Elementary School visited the Department for a virtual workshop on Black holes by Dr. Ilana MacDonald.
Avalon Montessori School - June 2023
On June 6, 2023, students in grade 7 and 8 from Avalon Montessori School visited the department for a Light-Matter Interactions workshop by graduate students Joscelyn van der Veen and Kiera Augusto. The workshops were followed by Telescope tours run Dr. Ilana MacDonald in Astronomy and a Physics facility tour by Arman Malik.
Ontario Science Centre School - May 2023
On May18, 2023, students in grade 11 and 12 from Ontario Science Centre School visited the department for a Laser Diffraction workshop by Professor Brian Wilson.
Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study - February 2023
On February 22, 2023, grade 4 and 5 students from the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study participated in a school visit. Prof. Daniel Gregory from the Department of Earth Sciences ran a workshop on “Starburst Rock Cycle”.
Ontario Science Centre School - November 2022
On November 23, 2022, 34 grade 11and 12 students from Ontario Science Centre School visited the department for a Laser Diffraction workshop by Professor Brian Wilson.
Greenwood College - November 2022
On November 10, 2022, 35 students grade 11 students from Greenwood College visited the department for an activity on light by graduate students Joscelyn van der Veen and they had a campus tour.
Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab School - November 2022
On November 9, 2022, 24 students grade 4 and 5 students from Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab School at U of T visited the department for some fun physics demos by Professor Ania Harlick.
Garth Webb Secondary School - November 2022
On November 7, 2022, 120! students grade 11 students from Garth Webb Secondary School visited the department for a workshop on Dark Matter by graduate student Mohamed Shaaban. They are also had a campus tour.
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute - September 2022
On September 16, 2022 grade 12 students from Victoria Park Collegiate Institute came to the Department for a tour of Professor Ziqing Hong's Dark Matter Lab.
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute - June 2022
On June 29, two grade 11 physics classes from Victoria Park Collegiate Institute participated in virtual school visits. One class had a workshop on ocean thermodynamics from Professor Nicolas Grisouard and graduate student Fabiola Trujano Jimenez. The other class participated in a workshop on dark matter from Mohamed Shaaban.
Garth Webb Secondary School - June 2021
In June 2021 students in the physics club at Garth Webb SS had a talk on Superconductivity.
R.H. King Academy- December 2019
In December 2019, 15 grade 12 students were given a workshop on gravitational lensing and then a tour of the Department of Physics.
Garth Webb Secondary School - November 2019
In November 2019, 35 grade 12 students were given a workshop on gravitational lensing and then a tour of telescopes and the Earth Sciences building.
Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute - April 2019
In April 2019, 62 grade 11 students were given a workshop on diffraction and a full campus tour.
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute - December 2018
In Dec 2018, 57 grade 11 and 12 students were given a workshop on Gravitational Lensing and Black Holes and then given a talk on High Energy Physics by graduate student Haider Abedi. They also saw the telescopes!
Leaside High School - November 2018
In Nov 2018 45 grade 11 students from Leaside High School were given a workshop on Gravitational Waves and a tour of the U of T campus.
School Visit from Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute - November 2018
In Nov 2018, 65 grade 11 students were given a workshop on diffraction and a full campus tour.
Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute - May 2018
In May 2018 grade 11 students were given a workshop on diffraction and a full campus tour.
Leaside High School - April 2018
In April 2018 grade 11 students from Leaside High School were given a workshop and a full campus tour.
Leaside High School - March 2018
In March 2018 grade 12 students from Leaside High School were given a workshop on Gravitational Waves, a physics lecture and a tour of the Physics Department.
Braemar College - October 2017
In October 2017 the students from Braemar College came to Department for a talk on studying physics and some lab tours.
Weston Collegiate Institute - May 2017
In May 2017 students from Weston Collegiate Institute were given a workshop on kinematics and lab tours.
St. Paul's Catholic Secondary School - April 2017
In April 2017 students from St. Paul's CSS were given tours, talks and physics demonstrations.
Glenforest Secondary School - December 2016
On Thursday, December 1, two grade 11 physics classes came to visit. Paul Kushner gave a talk on careers for physics graduates. Then they were treated to tours of the Undergraduate Labs by Jason Harlow.
They also saw research labs that are doing research on the atmosphere, quantum optics and atoms.
George Graydon Memorial School - November 2016
On Friday, November 25, 2016, 18 students and their teacher visited the Department of Physics for a workshop and tours. The workshop was run by Xingxing Xing and was on Mechanics. After the workshop everyone was taken on tours of Professor Joseph Thywissen's Lab and Professor Stephen Morris' Lab.
Victoria Park Collegiate Institute - May 2015
On Thursday, May 28, the Department hosted another school visit, this time for grade 12 students from Victoria Park Collegiate. The students had presentations on earthquakes, particle physics and careers in physics. The teacher of this class, Sarah Torrie has a connection to the Department too, she graduated in 2002 with an Astronomy and Physics Specialist and fondly remembers being taught Macrophysics by Stephen Morris.There was also a similar school visit on May 21 from Newtonbrook Secondary School.
The Department hopes to continue these types school visits and inspire a new generation physicists.
Danforth Central Technical School - May 2015
As part of the Department’s Outreach activities to engage high school students in physics, on May 8th, twenty five grade 11 students from Danforth Technical School were treated to an educational afternoon at the Department of Physics.
They were given presentations by Paul Kushner (Undergraduate Chair), Prof. Peter Krieger, and Prof. Stephen Morris.
Prof. Paul Kushner talked about “Physics at U of T and Beyond”. Students were told that at U of T, they would learn how physics governs particles, forces, cosmology, climate change, biological processes, quantum mechanics/computation and exotic quantum materials. Prof. Kushner discussed the physics undergraduate program and explained that U of T physics graduates are employed in a wide range of fields.
Prof. Peter Krieger presented “Experimental Particle Physics in 15 minutes”. He discussed particle physics, the Higgs boson and CERN. The students were shown pictures of the ATLAS calorimeter which was built at U of T with the help of undergraduate students. Prof. Krieger talked about subatomic particles and everyday life, giving
examples of x-rays, microscopes and beam therapy for cancer. The students were curious about medical isotopes and Prof. Krieger told them how they work and how they are used by hospitals.
Prof. Stephen Morris talked about the continuum limit and the convection of the sun, ocean and earth. He discussed fluid mechanics and temperature gradients and showed a double pendulum to demonstrate chaos.
After the presentations, they were then taken on a tour of the department. First, Steven Butterworth (manager of Physics Computing Services), showed them the “Big Mac” computer cluster, then they were shown the two cold atom labs belonging to Prof. Aephraim Steinberg and Prof. Joseph Thywissen. The tour ended in Department Chair Stephen Julian’s Low Temperature Lab.
We hope to continue these types of activities and inspire a future generation of physicists!
