Inside CERN’s New Science Gateway

CERN Science Gateway is now open for scientists, explorers, and dreamers alike, to discover particle physics like nowhere else on Earth.
By LF ITALY
February, 2024

Welcome to the fascinating world of the CERN Science Gateway, where the wonders of particle physics and cutting-edge scientific exploration come to life for audiences of all backgrounds and interests. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has long been at the forefront of groundbreaking discoveries, and the CERN Science Gateway is designed to open its doors to a wider audience, not just scientists. Whether you’re a student, a curious mind, a science enthusiast, or simply someone eager to delve into the mysteries of the universe, the Science Gateway offers a unique opportunity to explore and engage with the incredible work being done at CERN. From interactive exhibits and educational resources to virtual tours and engaging events, the Science Gateway promises to inspire, educate, and ignite a passion for discovery in visitors of all ages and levels of scientific knowledge. Join us on a journey of exploration and wonder as we unlock the secrets of the universe together at the CERN Science Gateway.

Science brings people together and shows what humanity can achieve when we put our differences aside and focus on the common good. Science gives hope and trust in a better future. We want cern science gateway to inspire all those who come to visit with the beauty and the values of science.

— Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General at CERN
Renzo Piano and Fabiola Gianotti
Image:©CERN

WHY SCIENCE GATEWAY?

Known across the globe for being home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At 27-kilometre-long machine that stretches under the French-Swiss border, the LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator which, led to the discovery of the Higgs boson, in 2012. It was also at CERN that the World Wide Web was invented in 1989 and that the first antimatter particles were created in 1995. From the fundamental forces of nature to refining our understanding of the universe, education is one of the pillars of CERN’s mission. In 2017, CERN’s Director General, Fabiola Gianotti, laid out a vision of a oneof-a-kind outreach centre that would expand CERN’s already extensive range of education and outreach programmes, reaching out to more and younger visitors. Designed by world-renowned agency Renzo Piano Building Workshop, in collaboration with Brodbeck Roulet Architectes Associés, Science Gateway will welcome between 300 and 500,000 visitors every year, immersing them in the discoveries, the science and the technologies of CERN. With its tubes that appear to be suspended in space to evoke the cutting-edge CERN accelerators, Science Gateway will be both a real and a metaphorical bridge between visitors and science and a beacon to encourage young people to aim for careers in science and technology.

A bridge, forever bridges! A glass bridge, which links the different themes and parts of science gateway while also allowing a physical encounter between researchers and children, visitors and physicists, tourists and scientists, all driven by curiosity and the thirst for knowledge.

Renzo Piano, Architect Of CERN Science Gateway

Photos courtesy of @CERN