On June 26, 2025, ORAU hosted the Bricks2BeamsTN Middle School Outreach Program. The teacher professional development program was instructed by Robert Saethre, who is the Chief Engineer for the Neutron Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Saethre is the chair of Bricks2BeamsTN.
What exactly is Bricks2BeamsTN? According to their website, the mission is to inspire the next generation of innovators by fostering curiosity and passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Through interactive learning experiences, such as the design and construction of models of particle accelerators, the program seeks to engage and empower middle school students to explore the exciting world of engineering and cutting-edge scientific research.
During the presentation, teachers were provided with some knowledge about the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at ORNL. According to the ORNL website, the SNS produces neutrons with an accelerator-based system that delivers short (microsecond) proton pulses to a steel target filled with liquid mercury through a process called spallation. Those neutrons are then directed toward state-of-the-art instruments that provide a variety of capabilities to researchers across a broad range of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, biology and materials science.
You may be wondering how the SNS is tied to a professional development opportunity for teachers. Well, that is where Bricks2BeamsTN comes in. After the participants were briefed on how SNS functions, Saethre revealed how science could be turned into the discussion of diverse careers that contribute to the groundbreaking science at SNS, through the power of LEGO®.
Saethre and the rest of the team at Bricks2BeamsTN have created LEGO® models of key SNS components, bringing complex concepts to life in a fun and interactive way. Their team is looking to partner with teachers to introduce middle school students to the world of particle accelerators. There are many different components of the program, including education about the SNS, building the components using LEGO® kits and connecting STEM learning to real-world opportunities.
Bricks2BeamsTN can also work with teachers to set up a STEM Day, which allows students to meet with staff who operate the SNS and show off the models they have built. For Saethre, it’s important to show middle school students that there are many career opportunities in STEM beyond engineering.
“Middle school is the perfect age group to expose the idea of our mission because they are still deciding what they want to do, and we can change their mind about these types of careers,” said Saethre. “They may not know there are other careers where you don’t need to be a Ph.D. physicist to work at the lab and do cool, fun things. The laboratory has about 7,000 employees, and only about 1,500 of them are classified as scientists. The rest of them are all these other types of careers that I want students to look into.”
During the professional development course at ORAU, the teachers got to try their own hand at building the SNS components out of LEGO® pieces. For one participant, the opportunity got her mind working as to how she can take back the lessons learned and apply them to her own classroom.
“Introducing the students to careers in STEM that are available is really important,” said Becky Carter, who is a middle school teacher at Webb School of Knoxville. “I am not doing as much of that right now as I would love to do. This type of idea is a great push to incorporate more of that into my current classes.”
Are you interested in learning more about our professional development courses? Be sure to check out our list of K-12 educator programs to find the opportunity that is right for you!