DIII–D TOURS

The DIII-D Facility Tour is a General Atomics Fusion Education field trip suitable for nearly all grades (primarily grades 5-college) and encompasses both advanced technology and fundamental scientific principles. Under the guidance of scientists and engineers, students explore multiple hands-on demonstration stations covering topics in design and engineering,, data acquisition, fusion production, and plasma control. Tours can be tailored to a teacher’s specific needs regarding content or emphasis in related issues such as the importance of good laboratory procedures and safety practices. The maximum student group size is 50 and the number of tours is limited. Please sign up early by calling (858) 455-4198.

• Plasma – the 4th state of matter and the first step to fusion
• Radiation, radioactivity, and risk assessment
• Data acquisition and analysis
• The electromagnetic spectrum
• The DIII-D tokamak & control room
• Computer aided design/engineering
• Discussions of energy use, environmental impact, college preparation
  for scientific careers

Student preparation for the tour is generally done in the classroom by the teacher
and may be accomplished several ways:

• Present the videotape, “Fusion, Nature’s Fundamental Energy Source”
  and discuss key topics
• Perform 2 or more of the experiments/demonstrations provided in the teacher notebook
• Discuss general aspects of fusion and have students generate 5-10 questions about fusion or related topics that they can ask during the tour.
• Teachers can encourage active student participation in the tour by allowing students to earn points by completing a worksheet generated in the classroom, asking specific questions, or by making a post-tour presentation or report on some aspect of fusion.

Tour Timeline for Teachers