Experience the 'Wow' Power of Science
At Inner Space/Outer Space Exhibition

Contact: Renee Haines
SDSU Marketing & Communications
Tel: (619) 594-4298/ Cell: (619) 992-0772
rhaines@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO – (Friday, Oct. 28, 2005) – It's that time of year when Steven Barlow and his fellow scientists at San Diego State University become the masters of all that's fun about seeing stars, making waves and peering at a magnified fly's eye through a powerful microscope.

The university’s College of Sciences is gearing up for the 11th annual edition of San Diego State's free Inner Space/Outer Space Exhibition and Open House that this year invites the public to experience the “wow” power of science from 4 p.m.- 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.

“From toddlers to toddling grandparents,” everyone from professional engineers to the science-phobic flock to the event each year, said Barlow. “Student volunteers will run a lot of the high-tech gadgetry, since students learn to operate this equipment as part of their research experience at SDSU.”

Barlow created the annual event to showcase the university's research and science education laboratories and “take some of the myth out of science” with this entertaining approach to community outreach.

“They will get a kick out of it, and if they remember they got that 'oh, wow' experience at San Diego State, all the better,” Barlow said.

For that “Inner Space” experience, visitors to Barlow's Electron Microscope Facility in the university's Physical Sciences Building will see what's invisible to the naked eye about plants and animal life magnified as much as 50,000 times on state-of-the-art transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The lab's new computer-controlled transmission electron microscope with a digital imaging system and fully motorized stage can also create 3D models for an extra “wow” experience.

“Outer Space” fans can visit the rooftop next door at the Physics-Astronomy Building, where several telescopes will be focused on the stars. A planetarium show will focus on how San Diegans can identify the patterns of heavenly bodies from their own back yards over the course of a year.

Which laboratories participate can change from year to year. This year, the oceanography lab has signed on to show visitors literally how to make waves. Kids can mine for minerals at the “Show Me Geology” exhibit – one of a number of hands-on exhibits from different departments. A lab camera will allow visitors to watch themselves play scientist on the Web, and biologists will have their latest research projects on display.

Free parking is available for the event at the university's College Avenue Parking Structure No. 1. The opening this summer of a new trolley stop at San Diego State is expected to attract additional visitors from throughout the city. Just follow the signs to the science buildings from the parking deck or trolley stop. For more information and campus directions, visit www.sci.sdsu.edu/emfacility.

Media Note: Contact Steve Barlow directly at (619) 594-4523 and/or by email at sbarlow@sunstroke.sdsu.edu.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasingly international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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