Science in the schools - the Extreme Energy Events project

The Extreme Energy Events (EEE) project aims to study extended air showers from high energy cosmic rays and extreme energy events by detecting the muon component of the shower. To achieve this goal, a network of muon telescopes has been installed in high schools distributed all over Italy. Each muon telescope consists of three large area (80 x 160 cm(2)) Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs). Each MRPC has 24 pickup strips read out at both ends; the hit position along the strip is thus deduced from the time difference. This design offers pointing capability, so that the muon direction can be reconstructed. The project has been conceived by Prof. A. Zichichi in order to rekindle the interest of young people in science and give them a first-hand experience of scientific research.