If the prospect of spending another Halloween season eating gobs of candy doesn’t sound so sweet, students and area residents can spend time at the Haunted Physics Lab.

The fifth annual Haunted Physics Lab is scheduled to spook visitors at its Faraday Hall locale from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The scientifically themed haunted house is run by NIU physics professor Pati Sievert, along with more than 100 volunteers.

“The Haunted Physics Lab will contain traditional Halloween decorations as well as interactive activities throughout the rooms and hallways to promote physics,” Sievert said.

Some of the activities include a vortex and Van de Graaff generator, glow-in-the-dark face painting and various optical displays, including rainbow glass and a giant kaleidoscope.

Eric Johnson, a senior physics major and third-year Haunted Physics Lab volunteer, names the Van de Graaff generator as a personal favorite.
“Being a physics major allows me to explain the science behind the exhibits to any visitors who have questions,” Johnson said.

“In layman’s terms, the Van de Graaf generator contains a fast-spinning belt with metal teeth scraping against it, building electrons into the metallic sphere on the top of the structure, which causes participants’ hair to raise upon touching it,” he said.

In addition, there are fun-house mirrors, a two-way mirror and rooms filled with spectrum, black, neon and ultra-violet light, which makes the faces of those who participated glow with the face painting.

“The two-way mirror is really spooky,” Sievert said. “It has a dimmer controlled light and two people will sit at opposing sides, staring at each other in the eyes and an illusion will be created that makes it seem like features of both faces are melding into one.”

The Haunted Physics Lab has grown in popularity with each passing year.

“The number of participants has increased from about 250 the first year to nearly a thousand in subsequent years,” Sievert said. “The Haunted Physics Lab is catered toward elementary- to middle school-aged children, but people of all ages can have fun doing something educational here.”

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