Neutrino Day 2022: SURF’s signature event features popular science celebrity, Physics Girl

For two years, the COVID-19 pandemic kept the Sanford Underground Research Facility’s (SURF) annual science festival in a virtual world. This year, Neutrino Day returns to an in-person format, bringing all the excitement and adventure of past Neutrino Days. The free, citywide festival will take place Saturday, July 9, 2022.

"After two years of Neutrino Day in a virtual format, we are truly excited to host this year’s event face-to-face in Lead," said Mike Headley, executive director of SURF. "Inspiring learning across generations is a major part of SURF’s mission, and Neutrino Day is our flagship community outreach event with a strong focus on learners of all ages."

Neutrino Day’s headlining speaker is Dianna Cowern, creator and host of the viral “Physics Girl” YouTube series. With over 2 million subscribers, “Physics Girl” is a resource for fun physics videos and has featured such legendary figures as Bill Nye.

“We are so excited to bring Dianna Cowern to SURF for Neutrino Day,” said Constance Walter, communications director. “She has an enthusiasm for physics and passion for education that fits beautifully with the mission of Neutrino Day and SURF.” 

Cowern researched dark matter as an undergraduate at MIT and low-metallicity stars as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics—before working at GE as a software engineer designing mobile apps. Now, she invites everyone into the world of physics through experiments, demonstrations and cool new discoveries.

“I love how physics can explain the weird quirks of our universe,” Cowern said. Cowern’s talk is our Neutrino Day finale and will take place on Saturday, July 9, at 4 p.m. at the Historic Homestake Opera House.

Throughout the day, attendees will find all their Neutrino Day favorites and discover new experiences, activities and speakers.

Join us for hoistroom tours, science activities and exhibits for all ages, live video chats with scientists underground at SURF, and engaging talks about the research happening beneath your feet. You won’t want to miss a tour of the Yates Hoistroom, wild science demonstrations with “Science Steve” Rokusek or The Journey Museum's immersive planetarium!

Neutrino Day takes place at locations across Lead, including the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, the Sanford Underground Research Facility, the Handley Recreation Center and the Historic Homestake Opera House. Start your day at the Visitor Center, then take buses to other locations throughout Lead.

Tickets for the Yates Hoistroom tour are available at the Visitor Center. Tours are free, but there is limited availability, so get yours in the morning! 

To plan your Neutrino Day experience, visit www.neutrinoday.com. A full schedule and updates will be added soon!