CERN inaugurates new Science Gateway, a bridge to the outside world

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The Geneva-area lab that houses the world’s largest atom smasher, known as CERN, has inaugurated a new “Science Gateway” that hopes to make its complex inner workings and the science that drives it comprehensible—and inspiring—to everyone aged 5 and above.

Chiefs at the European Organization for Nuclear Research—CERN’s official name—say improvements were needed to better welcome the tens of thousands of tourists who flock to its entrance every year near the French-Swiss border.

So, they called in famed architect Renzo Piano, a friend of and fellow Italian to CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti, to design the structure. “With the Science Gateway, we want to expand the opportunities for scientific education that we offer to the public,” explains Gianotti.

Entry will be free, and opening times run from Monday through Saturday.

One major goal, Gianotti says, was “to infuse everyone who comes here with curiosity and a passion for science and inspire young people to take up careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.”

Before, CERN welcomed 150,000 tourists a year—but the “Science Gateway” will balloon capacity to 500,000, says Gianotti. Teenage guides showcase the science behind glitzy, light-infused displays during inauguration day festivities.

Drawn to the project, Piano visited the site first. “So, I came to CERN, I went around, down in the large collider. I talked to people, I talked to scientists, and then (it) became clear that those people needed a bridge: a real one, but also a metaphorical one, connecting the world of a scientist with the outside world.”

Piano says he was “touched” by the “incredible” work of CERN scientists exploring everything from the tiniest atomic particles to the Big Bang, which helps to understand “that the Planet Earth is a little spaceship on which we are, all of us, embarked.”

The “Science Gateway” center is powered by solar panels and is nestled in a wooded area.

It features a transparent glass design and a bridge—to symbolize openness and links to the big and the small in science. It houses laboratories, exhibition areas, and an auditorium.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Science Gateway complex]

[Science Gateway complex, half globe referring to world of science and research]

[Bridge linking different parts of Science Gateway complex and architectural tubes inspired by Hadron Collider circuit]

[The giant half globe structure representing the world of science and research to the Science Gateway complex entrance]

[Sculpture engraved with scientific phrases and formulas, half globe in background]

[Words on a sculpture]

[Science Gateway entrance]

[Buildings and a bridge]

[Building complex]

[A bridge with people walking on it]

Renzo Piano (interview): “They capture the little parts, particles of atoms in the same time, they think about the universe and the Big Bang. And it’s a kind of attitude that, it’s a very important point of view. You understand that. Seen from this point of view, you understand that the planet Earth is a little… is a little spaceship on which we are all of us embarked.”

[Two buildings of complex connected by bridge]

[Inaugural ribbon cut with Alain Berset, Swiss Confederation President, Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN, John Elkann, President of Stellantis automaker group and Renzo Piano, architect connector of the Science Gateway]

[Famous Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado preparing to take a photo of his friend Renzo Piano posing with Fabiola Gianotti]

[Big Bang Café door shutting with building in background]

[Renzo Piano, Fabiola Gianotti and John Elkann arriving at Science Gateway display area]

[Elkann and Piano speaking during visit]

[Science Gateway display area entrance]

[A screen showing Hadron Collider[

[A screen, showing particle accelerated in a tube and collided in chamber]

[Display area with design inspired by Hadron Collider]

Fabiola Gianotti (interview): “At CERN, we are trying to address the outstanding question in fundamental physics. For instance, the Dark Universe, Dark Matter, which is 25 percent of the universe and today, it’s a question mark — we don’t know the composition of this part of the universe. And we are also addressing many other questions that is extremely intriguing, extremely interesting, and should allow us to push the limits of knowledge.”

[A man inside the display area with decorations inspired by Hadron Collider]

Fabiola Gianotti (interview): “With the Science Gateway, we want to expand the opportunities for scientific education that we offer to the public. Today, CERN hosts something like 150,000 visitors annually, out of 300,000 requests. So, until now, we have been able to satisfy only half of the requests. With the Science Gateway, we will be able to host up to half a million of visitors. In addition, a new feature of the Science Gateway are the labs for the very small kids from five years up.”

[Visitors playing with electronic particles meant to explode when colliding]

[Teenage boy (son of CERN staff member) listening to CERN staff member explaining an interactive game]

[A visitor’s finger pressing button]

[A visitor modifying a structure in a tube with the help of a magnet]

[Mini accelerator able to speed up matter by 100 times]

[A delegation with the Polish embassy getting an explanation about the mini accelerator]

[A screen that reads “Meet the detectors”]

[Tubes in which particle acceleration takes place]

[Hadron Collider]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Tuesday.