CERN Open Days
From 27 to 30 September 2013, CERN is opening its doors to the world with a long weekend of events and activities.
On 27 September CERN will celebrate its discoveries with its industrial and institutional partners. More than a thousand guests from businesses and institutes that collaborate with CERN are expected at this day of visits and presentations.
In the evening on 27 September 'Origins 2013' will take place and will be streamed live online as part of the European Researchers' Night. Eminent scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, will take the floor at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation in Geneva, the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the Salaborsa square in Bologna to describe breakthroughs in research into the infinitely big and the infinitesimally small. These two fields of research converge, offering us a better understanding of the origins of our Universe.
In addition, researchers will engage in discussion with small groups of visitors in a new kind of speed dating: scientific speed dating. More information about this event, which members of the public must sign up to attend, is available on the Origins 2013 website.
On 28 and 29 September CERN will open up its installations to the general public. With the slogan 'Our Universe is Yours', these two Open Days will put the spotlight on CERN's discoveries and experiments, as well as the fantastic machines that lead to these discoveries. From 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. visitors will have the chance to meet CERN's researchers, engineers and technicians and to explore their laboratories, technical halls, experiments and accelerators at the biggest particle physics centre in the world.
As places on the underground visits are strictly limited, an electronic ticket office will be open throughout the second half of August: people will be able to reserve up to four tickets, which will be valid for a specific day and timeslot.
Finally, on 30 September, CERN's personnel and users are invited to attend a 'Bosons & More' thank you party. That evening, the Alan Parsons Live Project will perform an exclusive concert accompanied by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. A competition will be launched on the Open Days website at the end of August giving members of the public a chance to win tickets to the concert.
Further information
Numerous other activities and presentations have been planned. Information is continually being added to CERN's Open Days website.