It’s a sunny California afternoon and I’m giving a tour of our beautiful site. General public tours are usually the most exciting to do; I like the random mix of people—and questions—that I encounter on these tours.

Adam Edwards (BABAR) enjoys guiding tours. (Photo by Diana Rogers)

"So, what would happen if, say, I put my hand in the beam?" a visitor asks.

"You’d probably get a nice hole in it. But that would never happen here. It’s very important that the beams don’t collide with anything but themselves; that’s why all the air is removed from the beam pipe."

There are those who wonder, "Why isn’t anybody ever working wherever we go?" Others are curious about how things work: "Thanks, I’ve always wondered what..."

Many bring their own stories to share: "I was reading my paper this morning after breakfast and I was remembering reading in the paper years ago about this place opening. What year was that?"

Each tour has its own flavor, but inevitably eyes light up as the tour progresses and I tell each group about the work we do.

"Is that the accelerator there?" queries another curious visitor.

"Well, that’s part of it. The actual beam is about 25 feet below ground. But to power the beam we use 240 klystrons. See the machines over there with the red cylinders? They are lined up above the beam in this two mile long shed which is, in fact, the longest building in the world. It’s about 10 feet longer than Hong Kong’s airport terminal!"

Fascinating facts are good to know, but even better to share. Both the guides and the guided can enjoy the ‘gee-wiz’ aspect of it all.

The Public Affairs Office (PAO) runs tours of SLAC most days. The general tour gives guests an introduction to the Lab and then we usually take them from the Visitor Center to the Klystron Gallery, through the research yard and to the SLD detector.

Anyone can guide tours and it’s always a fun experience! I’m a graduate student working with the BABAR collaboration, but I’ve found that people from all corners of SLAC give tours. Each of us gives our own spin and highlights our own interests. It’s like giving a tour of our home and everyone just loves what we did with the rooms.

At the end of the tour, guests always say ‘Thank You’. I feel good knowing that I’ve been able to share the marvels of science and may even inspire a new young scientist.