CERN in Switzerland Opens New Gateway for Visitors to Get Their Science On

If you thought CERN, the renowned particle physics research facility in Geneva, was just for Nobel laureates and PhD’s, think again. The facility has inaugurated Science Gateway, a new, visionary hub with free admission for anyone from 5 to 95 to get involved in the next generation of human understanding of the universe at what may be the world’s most famous science facility. 

 

CERN’s Science Gateway is an architectural achievement as well as providing a new level of access to the high degree of high science at CERN beginning in the fall of 2023.

 

Designed with tubes that appear to be suspended in space evoking the cutting-edge CERN particle accelerators, Science Gateway is both a real and a symbolic bridge between visitors and science.

 

An actual glass bridge links the different parts of Science Gateway while also allowing researchers and children, visitors and physicists, tourists and scientists to encounter each other in person - all driven by curiosity and the thirst for knowledge.

 

In a literal and figurative way, the glass bridge opens up a connection and visibility between scientists and ordinary people interested in how science can be used to create a better future. And it’s a metaphor for young people to connect to careers in science and technology.

 

Not the worst experience for families to sandwich between chocolate, cheese and alpine pursuits on a trip to Switzerland!

 

There are already education and outreach programs at CERN, but Science Gateway will let even the youngest visitors discover their inner scientist and the secrets of the universe. Hands-on education labs, immersive, multi-media exhibits, science shows and guided tours will let visitors experience places where science is done.

 

Hundreds of CERN guides, drawn from actual CERN personnel, will share the wonders of particle physics with up to half a million visitors from around the world every year.  

 

Exhibits, shows, and hands-on workshops give the young and young-at-heart different paths and approaches to understanding the concepts being studied at CERN.