We've been asked a number of times for statistics regarding the numbers of shows we've done, etc. So we decided to put it all up here at once. For more information, you can contact the Physics Van Coordinator at: PhysVan@illinois.edu.
The Physics Van was created in the Spring of 1994 by Professor Mats Selen (a.k.a. "The Whys Guy"), together with a small group of University of Illinois students. Originally, most shows were done in Loomis Lab for (relatively) small groups of elementary and middle school students from Champaign-Urbana schools. Since then, our program has become almost entirely student organized and run. The majority of our shows are now done in elementary school gymnasiums. And we can now travel to schools as far as an hour's drive from Champaign-Urbana on a regular basis. We have also been part of special events around Illinois, in Wisconsin, and even as far as Colorado.
Some of the numbers that went into these statistics were estimated, so these figures may not be quite perfect.
You can find out more about some individual shows by looking at our Pictures pages. We also have videotapes of a few selected shows. Unfortunately, some of our older records are fairly sketchy, but you are still welcome to contact us if you have other questions.