DASTOW 2000
Seeds of the Future

by Mike Perricone

With ID 00070, Ernie Malamud's contributions to particle physics are firmly established in Fermilab's history. With a magnet show on Daughters and Sons to Work Day (DASTOW 2000), Malamud's reach extended to at least one new possibility for the future.

"After the show was over," Malamud said, "a little girl about eight or 10 years old came up to me. She said she learned more about science today than she has learned in school."

Wilson Hall's One West conference room was filled to capacity for the morning's magnet show, opening possibilities for many young minds who might have felt a similar spark.

Thursday, April 27, was a day dedicated to the future. The planting of seeds and trees for Earth Day offered a symbol for the possibilities, hopes and aspirations that the day's activities aimed to nurture in some 200 young visitors (and some older ones, too).

Many corners of the lab were open for discovery, including the people themselves. Head of Lab Services Kay Van Vreede keynoted the day with a presentation of "before and after" picturesódrawn by a class of seventh-graders to show their expectations of how scientists looked, compared to their experience of scientists after visiting the lab. The "before" pictures featured bald guys with glasses and lab coats; the "after" pictures were a celebration of diversity.

Dr. Bob Betz, a key influence in Fermilab's earliest efforts at prairie restoration, led a woodlands and wildflowers tour on the Margaret Pearson Nature Trail. Fermilab's Fire Department had special kid-sized equipment on hand, along with the full-sized fire trucks that are exciting to kids of any age. Mentors and parents gave personal insights into the many jobs and skills that go into the operation of the lab. Three physicistsóBill Foster, Norman Gelfand and Peter Mazuróheld a question-and-answer session ranging from how a TV works to how to get an A on an upcoming science project. Jerry Zimmerman showed the kids how to chill out with his renowned Cryo Show.

And visitors to the buffalo barn had a special privilege: witnessing a calf being born on the afternoon of a day dedicated to the future.