By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

Imagine taking a complicated theory such as the Higgs boson and creating a 30-minute film that not only provides an explanation of the theory and its importance for all ages to understand but developing a component that children with autism would also enjoy.

That is exactly what the Grand Rapids Public Museum did with its recently released original production “Subatomic,” now showing at the museum’s Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium.

“The show focuses on arguably the most significant scientific discovery in the last 50-75 years,” said Grand Rapids Public Museum President and CEO Dale Robertson. “We tend to think about science having great discoveries happening a long time ago: Newton’s theory of gravity in 1676, Einstein’s theory of relativity in 1915.”

British theoretical physicist Peter Higgs proposed a theory in 1964 that stated that a field exists joining everything and giving it mass. For about the next 50 years, the scientific community set about to prove this theory with more than 10,000 scientists around the world collaborating. In 2012, the largest machine in the world, a Large Hadron Collider, discovered the Higgs boson. It also has been nicknamed “the God particle” because it’s said to be what caused the “Big Bang Theory” that created the universe many years ago but more importantly to the scientific community, it gives validity to The Standard Model of Physics, the authoritative theory for particle physics. There is also hope that the Higgs boson will help shed light on other mysteries such as dark matter.

“It is a very difficult concept but we are trying to do now particularly with the passage of our millage and promise to the community is to really bring significant discoveries and significance happenings to the world right here locally to Grand Rapids and doing it in a partnership way,” Robertson said.

And just like international collaboration that took place to discover the Higgs boson, there a large collaboration with groups like Hope Network and Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design along with a couple internationally know scientists with local ties.

“So this really is the biggest of big sciences but here is what is great about it two West Michigan natives were among the scientists who collaborated worldwide to discover the Higgs boson,” Roberton said, adding that Dr Jacob Bourjaily, a theoretical physicist at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen and a graduate of Forest Hills and Dr. Brian Winer, chair and professor of physics at Ohio State University and a graduate of Ottawa Hills High School, participated in the project.

“Both have shared with us right up front that they have very fond memories of coming on school tours [to the Public Museum], with their parents and so forth on weekends to see planet shows,” Robertson said. “It was inspiring to them as a child growing up and lead to a path that they chose for their career.

“We know that we touch lives here at the museum and we know that we touch lives here at the planetarium, which is exactly what it exists to do,” Robertson said.

Touching lives is part of the reason why Museum officials purposefully focused on those with autism developing a program that would be particularly appealing to the autism population from the theory of universal design learning and improving the experience for everybody, Robertson said. “Subatomic” has three parts with a live presentation with the planetarium presenter right in the middle of the room talking to the audience. Then there is the full dome presentation with the audience exiting out to the hands on activities focused on specific principles.

“We learned through our Hope Network partnership that with certain principles, it begins the gears turning and then to immediately go into something that has multi-sensory, active learning engagement helps make that visceral, cerebral connection that will lead into increased learning,” Robertson said about offering the hands on portion after the film’s showing. Activities include a pinball-style particle collider that allows guests to try their hand at having two balls shoot through a wire frame and collide.

“I have been absolutely amazed with the groups here and the partnerships that takes something that is very complex and make it very accessible and is one of those great things that has happened in our life time,” “Robertson said. “Being able to take it in and understand and beginning to relate to it…I have seen it three to four times, and continue to want to comeback because I find it that inspiring.”

“Subatomic” is part of the Chaffee Planetarium’s regular schedule. Planetarium shows are $4 with regular admission and $5 for planetarium only. Museum members receive free admission to planetarium shows. The program meets middle school curriculum as it does explore such scientific concepts as gradational waves and atoms and the program can be reserved for school groups and field trips. For more information, visit www.grpm.org.