Children enjoy an exhibit demonstrating the applications of lasers. The GTRI researchers developed the museum-quality exhibits and are making them available for loan to K-12 schools. Credit: Brian Childress

A dozen hands-on, museum-quality exhibits created by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) volunteers will help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the laser’s invention. The exhibits can be seen—and test-driven—as part of LaserFest, a yearlong event that volunteers hope will help attract more U.S. students to the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The GTRI exhibits were displayed during WeatherFest, an American Meteorological Society event held recently at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

“Our display at WeatherFest was met with significant enthusiasm,” reports Michael E. Knotts, the GTRI senior research scientist who led the exhibits’ design team. “We encountered strong interest in having our exhibits appear at other LaserFest events throughout the year, as well as at Atlanta-area schools.”

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