CERN opens a new “Science Gateway” visitor centre
CERN has opened its new Science Gateway to offer visitors interactive exhibits and laboratories to encourage curiosity and critical thinking. The visitors' centre enables CERN to welcome up to half a million visitors a year and to raise awareness among all age groups of the importance of fundamental research and its applications.
The CERN nuclear research institute in Geneva has inaugurated its new “Science Gateway” visitor centre. The building, designed by architect Renzo Piano and financed by donations, offers five areas for exhibition rooms, laboratories, a flexible conference room, a shop and a restaurant. With the Science Gateway, CERN can now welcome up to half a million visitors a year, compared with 125,000 previously. The visitor centre is open six days a week and admission is free.
The main aim of the Science Gateway is to arouse curiosity and encourage critical thinking. Visitors are given the opportunity to see for themselves the sheer size of the particle accelerator, and to carry out their own experiments at different locations to study the properties of the magnets. At the i-
nauguration, Swiss President Alain Berset emphasised the importance of science for a sustainable future.
As Europe’s nuclear research centre, CERN is home to the world’s largest particle accelerator. The particle accelerator simulates the period shortly after the big bang and studies the fundamental laws of the universe. CERN has also developed practical applications, including solar panels, touch-screen technology and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, the World Wide Web was invented at CERN.
The Science Gateway was funded by donations, which raised a total of around 100 million Swiss francs. The largest single donation, amounting to 45 million Swiss francs, was made by the Stellantis Foundation. Construction of the Science Gateway campus took just over two years.
The Science Gateway is aimed at visitors of all ages and functions as an emblematic science education and public awareness centre. The aim is to help society understand the importance of basic research and its applications, and to encourage young people to pursue careers in STEM fields. This impressive building is also entirely neutral in terms of CO² emissions and is powered by solar energy, while being surrounded by a newly-created forest.