On October 19, 2024, the CISESS Lightning and Virtual Reality (VR) research group, led by Guangyang Fang, participated in the annual Spooky Mad Science Expo in Alexandria, VA. The team included CISESS intern students Damian Figueroa and Samuel Wiggins, along with visiting scholar Wenjuan Zhang. Together, they set up an outreach booth to promote lightning safety using VR technology.
At the booth, they presented a video demonstration of the CISESS Virtual Proving Ground and Training Center (VPGTC) in mixed reality (MR), featuring educational modules such as the water cycle, lightning and cloud classification, a Faraday cage demonstration, and a gallery of spatial videos. The group also offered an interactive VR game that explained the principles of Faraday Cage and lightning safety knowledge, which was especially popular with both students and parents.
The Spooky Mad Science Expo, an annual event since 2019, is organized by the Chrysalis Development Group with the support of volunteers from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, National Science Foundation, NASA, Boeing, American Chemical Society, University of Maryland, and many more. The event combines Halloween festivities with STEM science projects, creating a fun and educational experience for all attendees.
