Visitors to San Diego State University will explore worlds invisible to the naked eye on Saturday, November 10, 2007 from 4-8 p.m., when the College of Sciences at SDSU hosts its annual "Inner Space/ Outer Space" Exhibition and Open House. Amateur scientists, families, and the general public of all ages are welcome at no charge.

 Scientists and students of the College of Sciences will display and demonstrate powerful microscopes, telescopes, computers, and other laboratory equipment that offer views of the universe ranging from microscopic parts of a mammalian cell to worlds beyond our own planet.

 Inner Space.....
    Visitors to the Electron Microscope Facility in the lower level of the Physical Sciences Building will see Inner Space--intricate details of the surface and internal structures of plant and animal life magnified 1,000 to 50,000 times on transmission and scanning electron microscopes. SDSU students and faculty will explain the operation of the light and electron microscopes and demonstrate the preparation techniques used at area hospitals to prepare tissue samples from biopsies.  The EM Facility is proudly showing off its computer controlled transmission electron microscope with digital imaging system and fully motorized stage. Images from this advanced microscope can then be used to create a 3D model of the sample.

    There will be movies of embryos at various stages of development, as well as of cell organelles, and other displays from research projects in the Biology Department. 

    The Psychology Department will be exhibiting a 3D interactive tour of the brain.

 Outer Space.....
    On the rooftop of the adjacent Physics-Astronomy Building, several refracting and reflecting telescopes will be focused on the sun, the moon, or other celestial bodies of Outer Space. In addition, a planetarium show will feature San Diego's night sky as an astronomer identifies the heavenly bodies visible from your own back yard over the course of a year. Come hear about the SETI Project, the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

 Earth.....
    Members of the Geology Department will have several hands-on exhibits.  Kids can 'prospect' for minerals at "Show Me Geology" Take a land cruise of the RP OCEANS, an oceanography lab. Experiments include making long waves with a paddle and using a wave maker to generate beach process.
You yourself may be seen on the WEB doing experiments in real time by the lab TV camera.

and universal laws.....
    CSU Meets CSI, with the Chemistry Department demonstrating aspects of forensic science.

    Magnetic levitation by superconductors and the effect of supercooling on gases and solids are among the exhibits to be presented by the Physics Department.

   Students will demonstrate the dramatic differences between helium-filled balloons and oxygen-filled balloons when each is cooled to minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit.

Directions and Map

To reach the Inner Space/Outer Space displays by trolley, get off the green line at SDSU, exit the trolley station and walk to the main boulevard on campus which runs from Campanile Drive across campus to Hepner Hall (with the bell tower in it) Walk through the archway in Hepner Hall and turn right.You will see another arch, and through this second arch you will see the Physical Science Building and an entrance to InnerSpace/OuterSpace.

To reach the Inner Space/Outer Space displays by car, take I-8 to the College Avenue exit and turn south to San Diego State University. Free parking is available on the first, second, and third level of the College Avenue Parking Structure 1. Take the structure's pedestrian overpass across College Avenue and at the top of the flights of stairs, turn right to the Chemistry/Geology Building. Follow the signs to the laboratories located in the adjacent Physics-Astronomy and Physical Sciences Buildings. The Open House will take place rain or shine, as most of the exhibits are indoors.

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