2020 Build Your Own Particle Detector at Home

BYOPDatHome is an online variation of the very successful and popular real-life activities that have taken place at various particle-physics outreach events around the world in the past seven years (see ‘Past events’ section).

While usually we provide several kilograms of LEGO bricks and ask visitors/you to build what they/you think a particle detector does or should look like, given the unique situation in various countries worldwide caused by the corona pandemic, this time we will be hosting an online / social media competition.

So this time you can use whatever LEGO bricks you have at home and as much time as you like to create and name a design for a particle detector as you, your family and kids would imagine it, but instead of us taking pictures we ask you to post your designs on either Instagram or Twitter.

So here are rules in short ..

  1. Create and name your design of particle detector build from LEGO bricks.
  2. Take a picture of your design.
  3. Post the picture along with the name, and maybe a short description, publicly on either Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #BYOPDatHome.
  4. Consider following and tagging @BuildYourOwnParticleDetector on Instagram and @BYOPD on Twitter.

As usual we will have a jury evaluating your submissions and we will make sure to send out some particle-physics-related prizes to the best entries in the end (for now that is 12 April 2020*). The best designs will also be featured here on the BYOPD website.

If you need some inspiration and/or want to know more about real-life particle-physics experiments, here’s just a few examples: ALICE, ATLAS, Belle II, CDF, CMS, D0, LHCb, UA1/UA2.

* we extended it from the original 5 April, as the lockdown continues in most countries