Open House
Freezing flowers using liquid nitrogen is a popular Open House demonstration.
Photo by Dave Barfield
Every February, the Magnet Lab invites the public to spend the day at its world-class research laboratory, and every February, they come by the thousands.
This free event features something for visitors of every age: hands-on demonstrations, self-guided tours, activities from our Community Classroom Consortium partners, food, and the chance to meet and chat with our scientists and other MagLab staff. It’s also a chance to do good for the community: The canned goods we collect as the unofficial price of admission go to America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of the Big Bend.
Open House offers an up-close look at our record-breaking 45-tesla hybrid magnet, our 900-megahertz superconducting magnet and other powerful research instruments. A special Exploration Station features hands-on science fun designed especially for families with young children.
Play with Magnets at the Exploration Station
At the Exploration Station, young scientists-in-training explore magnetism and other cool phenomena hands-on!
Make a Comet!
Mix cola, glass cleaner, sand and soil to make your very own comet -- and find out why models like these are important to scientists.
Find out more
Maglev Train
A toy train floats on air and demonstrates cool concepts like magnetic levitation, the Meissner Effect and magnetic flux trapping.
Find out more
Shrinking Quarter
Talk about inflation! The interplay of magnetic and electric forces can shrink a U.S. quarter to the size of a dime – in one millionth of a second.
Find out more
Community Partners
See, smell and feel starfish and other water dwellers in a special touch tank brought by FSU’s Sea–to–See program, one of dozens of community partners contributing exhibits to Open House.
Spinning Our Wheels
Science is the wheel deal … and if this demonstration on angular momentum doesn’t convince you, nothing will!
Smoke Ring Launcher
The “smoke rings” produced by this special launcher are actually circulating masses of air and smoke called toroidal vortexes. Holy smoke!
Pickle Power
Can you plug in a pickle? Sure! This demonstration shows that pickles are both tasty and good conductors of electricity.
Give to Your Community
Open House is free for everyone! In the spirit of community, please donate a canned good to America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend at the entrance.
Tesla Coil
Watch the purple sparks fly from our tesla coil and learn neat science about resonance and transformers.
Find out more
See in 3–D
Put on some special specs and see how 3–D images illustrate how the lab’s electron microscopes work.
Find Us!
We’re located at 1800 E. Paul Dirac Drive in Tallahassee’s Innovation Park. Follow the link and look for the little red thumbtack!
We’re here:
I Scream, You Scream
Something for your sweet tooth is available from Einstein’s Ice Cream, which serves the popular frozen treat with (of course!) a scientific twist. Surely, Albert himself would approve. The ice cream is FREE for everyone at Open House.
Good Eats!
Bring your appetite: Several food trucks will be on hand offering a variety of lunch fare.
Fun with Nitrogen
Watch what happens when scientists from our Cryogenics Lab freeze balloons and flowers to -320 degrees Fahrenheit with the help of liquid nitrogen. Brrrrr!
Find out more
When Sharks Fly
Helium–filled sharks go airborne at Open House so that you can learn about buoyancy and aerodynamics.
Classroom Outreach
