SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — FSU's National MagLab welcomed families inside their facility Saturday to experience the world's strongest magnets through hands-on experiments and science education activities.
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For the Rawls family, Saturday meant checking off another annual visit to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee.
The world's strongest magnets, usually reserved for scientists from around the globe, were at their fingertips during the lab's annual, community open house event.
"I levitated and made smoke rings and gigantic bubbles," a member of the Rawls family said, describing their hands-on experience with the cutting-edge scientific equipment.
The National MagLab, headquartered at Florida State University, attracts nearly 2,000 researchers a year who use its one-of-a-kind equipment to study advanced materials, energy, health and quantum technology.
The facility is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, with additional support from the State of Florida and the local community.
"We're taxpayer funded, so everyone is a stakeholder in our science," Communications Director Kristin Roberts said.
This year's open house theme blended science with books and literature, using stories to help explain complex scientific concepts to visitors of all ages.
"Science and books share curiosity and wonder. We're excited to use books as a springboard to explain some of our harder-to-understand science," Roberts said.
The National MagLab stands as the only facility of its kind in the United States and operates as the largest, highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world.
Community support has played a critical role in keeping the facility in Florida since it relocated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Florida State University in the early 1990s.
"The story of the MagLab shows the importance of community support. Continued support is critical so this lab can stay here in our community," Roberts said.
For families like the Rawls's, the lab's global scientific impact resonates on a personal level, especially when it comes to inspiring the next generation.
"Science is important, and it's important to continue the fun with the education part," the Rawls family said.
Their enthusiasm appears to be working on the youngest family members, with one child already setting career goals.
"I want to be a type of scientist, a herpetologist," the young visitor said.
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