Discover science with CERN

CERN's permanent exhibition, "Universe of Particles", and its conferences are housed in a superb venue: the Globe. This gigantic sphere, 27 metres high and made of five different types of wood (Scots pine, Douglas fir, spruce, larch and Canadian maple), is the work of Geneva architects Hervé Dessimoz and Thomas Büchi. Their aim was to build a sustainable building that would be a metaphor for the globe.

The CERN Globe is a meeting place for the scientific community and the general public. Conferences, workshops and temporary exhibitions are regularly held there to promote scientific culture and raise public awareness of the challenges of nuclear and particle research.

The "Universe of particles" exhibition invites you to discover the laws of the Universe by observing reactions in the microcosm of particles. You can explore the different elementary particles, their properties and interactions, and the techniques used to study them.

"The Universe of Particles" retraces some of the major questions that scientists, particularly those at CERN, have asked themselves: Where do they come from? What laws govern their behaviour?

Although it is possible to visit this exhibition individually and free of charge, we recommend that you take a 2-hour guided tour to get the most out of the scientific explanations.

Your journey will begin with an introductory video tracing the history of CERN. You will then watch another 3D video detailing the installation and operation of the collider (very impressive).

Finally, you will pass through CERN's Control Centre, where operators are constantly taking turns to control the particle beams destined to collide at the heart of the detectors. The guide will explain in detail the mechanism behind the collision.

The interactive Big Bang Passport tour lets you explore the underground facilities of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator, located 100 metres underground in a ring 27 kilometres in circumference. In physics, a hadron is a composite particle.

Passeport Big Bang is designed for all ages, with puzzles and games to make the visit more fun and interactive. It's a fun way to learn about the fascinating world of particle physics.

So take a bike, because the grounds are vast! A cycle route takes you along ten exhibition platforms built along the 27 km ring. If you're inquisitive by nature, we recommend that you download CERN's 'LHC mission' in advance, a sort of roadmap that suggests you solve 10 riddles along the way, with questions suitable for children and others for adults! So it's up to you to unravel the mysteries of the LHC, the Large Hadron Collider.