Magnet Mystery Hour

Magnet Mystery Hour is an occasional talk that presenst the lab, its instruments and its research in a way that's accessible to the curious- minded, even if they haven't had a science class since high school (or are currently in high school!). The talks are presented by the scientists themselves – many of them leaders in their fields – in a conversational format appropriate for older students and adults. Each talk is held on a Tuesday night at 6 p.m., and is paired with a short tour of the facility at 5:30 p.m. A question and answer session follows each talk.

Previous Presentations

• Oct. 30, 2012: Magnet Mystery Hour presents Spooky Science Secrets
• Oct. 18, 2011: This Magnet Mystery Hour featured Doing Science Together, a hands-on educational series for elementary and middle-school students from the lab's Center for Integrating Research and Learning.
• April 19, 2011: The phenomenon of superconductivity can seem like magic, even to those whose study it for a living. One hundred years after its discovery, Eric Hellstrom of the Magnet Lab's Applied Superconductivity Center explored superconductivity's most important milestones, the scientific hurdles faced by researchers, and its still almost limitless promise.
• Feb. 15, 2011: Lab Director Greg Boebinger explored the relationship between basic research and global energy issues, touching on the problems, the promise, and the challenges faced by the scientific community as they work to address ever-growing energy demands.
This text will be replaced
Click the image above to view a slideshow from our October 18, 2011 Magnet Mystery Hour
• Oct. 19, 2010 – FSU Assistant Professor Susanne Cappendijk uses the Magnet Lab’s 21.1-tesla magnet (the strongest MRI scanner in the world!) to explore the process of song development, storage of song information, and identification of underlying neural signaling pathways in the zebra finch brain. Learn how this research helps scientists better understand the human brain and its mysterious inner workings.
• Sept. 21, 2010 – Center for Integrating Research and Learning educators got students back in the swing of learning in the fall with their very popular “Doing Science Together” series, in which kids and their parents and/or guardians investigated science independently through guided, hands-on exercises.
• June 22, 2010 – Postdoctoral Associate Paul Cadden-Zimansky
  "Flying Boys, Defibrillated Chickens and Death by Lightning: The Peculiar History of Electricity and Magnetism"
• March 23, 2010 – Magnet Science & Technology Director Mark Bird
  "Magnets: From Mini to Mighty"
• Jan. 19, 2010 – Director of DC Facilities & Instrumentation Scott Hannahs
  "Magnet Myths and Mysteries"
• Nov. 17, 2009 – Ion Cyclotron Resonance Scholar Scientist Ryan Rodgers
  "Petroleomics: Chemistry of the Underworld"
• Oct. 20, 2009 – Director of the Center for Integrating Research and Learning Pat Dixon
  "Kitchen Table Science For Families"
• Sept. 22, 2009 – DC Field User Program Director Eric Palm
  "The Pull of High-Field Magnets"
• April 23, 2009 – Director of DC Facilities & Instrumentation Scott Hannahs
  "Magnet Myths"
• January 20, 2009 – Assistant Professor Sam Grant
  "How MRI Came to Be and What Its Future Holds"
• November 18, 2008 – Applied Superconductivity Center Director David Larbalestier
  "The Mechanics and Applications of Superconductivity"
• September 16, 2008 – MagLab Director Greg Boebinger
  "What do Amazing Materials, Cleaner Oil and the Biggest Electric Bill in Tallahassee Have in Common?" Download video

For more information contact Amy Mast at winters@magnet.fsu.edu or (850) 644-1933.