Presentation description

The High School Project on Astrophysics Research with Cosmics (HiSPARC) is a project in which high schools and academic institutions join forces and form a network to observe and measure ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with ground-based scintillation detectors. HiSPARC offers students and teachers the opportunity to participate in real physics research, with the purpose of finding out more about these mysterious and rare cosmic particles. As secondary educators, engaging in this study provided the opportunity to determine the feasibility of future student-led research projects, identify potential barriers, and develop solutions to those barriers. Using HiSPARC detectors, we reconstructed extensive air shower events by calculating their core positions and directions with the long-term goal of producing a cosmic ray energy spectrum study. Based on data from our detectors in Salt Lake City, we created analysis code that filtered cosmic ray events allowing us to perform quality cuts that resulted in a clear picture of where the shower core positions were located and what the directional angle distributions looked like. The previous steps were documented for students to have material they can use to understand and work on their own shower reconstruction projects. This process revealed the need to first use a larger array of detectors to determine shower core positions, and to second produce air shower simulations required to study the energies of primary particles. Teachers and students must also be aware of the importance of aligning the dataset with their research goals and the limitations presented by the need for data analysis coding knowledge. Going forward, we aim to create both tools for data analysis and pedagogical resources that will help secondary school students engage in cosmic ray research through the HiSPARC project.