Gov. Mike Rounds proclaimed Saturday as Neutrino Day in South Dakota, celebrating Lead's sixth annual free science festival celebrated in relation to the establishment and discoveries of neutrinos in the local underground laboratory in Lead.

The festival will feature hands-on science demonstrations, experiments, walking tours to the Yates Shaft hoist room, as well as several media and speaking events and includes:

• Showing of the 3-D animated movie "Fly Me to the Moon" at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• The 15-minute video "The Ghost Particle, which tells the Homestake neutrino story, will be at 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
• Tom Durkin of the South Dakota Space Consortium will present "Images from Space" at 11 a.m.
• Physicist Jose Alonso will give a progress update at noon with "Deep Science Begins at the 4850 Level."

In 1965, Physicist Ray Davis installed a pioneering neutrino experiment in the Homestake gold mine in Lead. Davis discovered properties of neutrino that led to the confirmation that neutrinos have mass and change "flavor." The discoveries led to Davis eventually sharing the 2002 Nobel Prize for physics. Because of Davis' and others work, the National Science Foundation chose Homestake as the site for a national underground laboratory, where future neutrino experiments are planned for the Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake.

Neutrino Day began in 2003 with lectures, parades and other events. It has evolved into a free summer science festival for students of all ages.

If you go

What: Neutrino Day

When: Saturday, July 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Sanford Lab at Homestake, Lead.

Transportation: Shuttles from the Homestake Visitor Center at the Open Cut will take participants to a variety of free science activities, tours, displays and science lectures for all ages. Shuttles will leave the visitor center every 15 minutes for the lab. The last shuttle to the lab will be at 12:15 p.m. Visits will take one to two hours depending upon activities, and guests are asked to wear sturdy shoes.

Information: Call the Sanford Underground Laboratory at 584-3110 or go to www.sanfordlab.com