To CERN with love! On our best selling physics school trip to Geneva.

Two members of the Diverse team recently visited Geneva to see the incredible facility at CERN for themselves.  Our science trips to CERN have proved to be exceptionally popular for both GCSE and A-Level physics students – we’ve had schools from all over the UK book with us to visit CERN - and now it was our turn to really understand why!

There are good-value flights to Geneva from many UK airports and we flew from Birmingham. Our flight arrived into Geneva Airport on a late Tuesday afternoon. About fifteen minutes after breezing through passport control we were at Geneva’s central station, Gare Cornavin.  From here it was a short walk to our accommodation for the trip: the Geneva Youth Hostel (GYH).

The Geneva Youth Hostel is by far the most popular choice of our schools for visits to Geneva, with its great location, spacious rooms and perfect atmosphere for school groups.  We were well looked after by Veronica who gave us a tour of the facilities along with a brief introduction to the city, which concluded with the stunning view of Lake Geneva and the Jet d’Eau from the top of the main building.  

The next morning we were up bright and early to get to CERN in time for our morning guided tour which was led by a resident scientist.  An intriguing introductory presentation was followed by a short coach journey to the Cryogenic Centre and then to the Atlas Centre (our highlight!) which houses the Hadron Collider’s control centre.   It’s remarkable to think that the gigantic particle detector sits 96 metres directly below the Atlas Centre.  The guided tour concluded with a 3D film detailing the proud history of CERN.

"Mork calling Orson; come in, Orson."

After a tasty lunch in the cafeteria alongside countless scientists and research staff, we took the time to explore the permanent exhibitions of the Microcosm and admittedly got rather too comfortable in the interactive pod-like chairs in the Universe of Particles Exhibition.

Our visit to CERN was an amazing experience, and one which will never be forgotten.  It’s hard to imagine anything more inspiring for those interested in science or studying physics. 




 
Who knows, perhaps the next Einstein will shortly be visiting CERN on one of our trips…. 

Physicist Humour at CERN

By Dan Isaacs