Visiting CERN in Switzerland

Visits to CERN are free but demand is high so you will need to book well in advance. Specific tours are available for: Schools. Groups.

1. How do I get into CERN?
2. Is CERN worth visiting?
3. How much does CERN cost?
4. How do I get to the Large Hadron Collider?
5. Can anyone go to CERN?
6. What should I study to get into CERN?
7. What's the point of CERN?
8. What does CERN stand for?
9. Where is CERN located in Switzerland?
10. How much electricity does CERN use?
11. Is the United States a member of CERN?
12. Does the US fund CERN?

How do I get into CERN?

Public transport: First take a free public transport ticket from the machine you will find in the baggage collection hall, just before customs control. Then you can take bus 23, 28 or 57 and get off at "Blandonnet" and then catch tram 18, final stop "CERN".

Is CERN worth visiting?

We felt the visit was definitely worth it, and my son really enjoyed going into the Atlas building, but you definitely don't need to be on a tour to enjoy going to CERN. As a Particle Physics Undergraduate, I was given the opportunity to visit CERN and even make a trip down into the ATLAS cavern.

How much does CERN cost?

CERN contributes about 20% of the cost of those experiments, which is a total of about $5.5 billion a year. The remainder of the funding for those experiments is provided by international collaborations. Computing power is also a significant part of the cost of running CERN – about $286 million annually.

How do I get to the Large Hadron Collider?

Most of the time, you can only visit the above ground facilities, and the Large Hadron Collider is located underground. However, once in a while, they do shut the collider down and open the area to the public, so you'll be able to visit that area.

Can anyone go to CERN?

CERN offers visits for individuals and small groups of up to 11 people. You will join a group of up to 24 people for a visit that will include the chance to see one of the experiment control rooms. These visits are extremely popular and can only be booked 15 days in advance.

What should I study to get into CERN?

If you want to build stuff at CERN you need to be an engineer. I'm not an engineer but I think you would need a university degree in engineering to walk down this path. If you want to do physics stuff at CERN you'll most likely need a masters degree in physics (4 years of university study).

What's the point of CERN?

At CERN, our work helps to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. We do this by providing a unique range of particle accelerator facilities to researchers, to advance the boundaries of human knowledge. The Laboratory, established in 1954, has become a prime example of international collaboration.

What does CERN stand for?

The name CERN is derived from the acronym for the French "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire", or European Council for Nuclear Research, a provisional body founded in 1952 with the mandate of establishing a world-class fundamental physics research organization in Europe.

Where is CERN located in Switzerland?

CERN is located at Meyrin, in the canton of Geneva on the border of France and Switzerland. It employs almost 3,200 people from 21 member states, all European with the exception of Israel. Its activities however reach far beyond the European context.

How much electricity does CERN use?

CERN uses 1.3 terawatt hours of electricity annually. That's enough power to fuel 300,000 homes for a year in the United Kingdom.

Is the United States a member of CERN?

Our Member States

The CERN convention was signed in 1953 by the 12 founding states Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, and entered into force on 29 September 1954.

Does the US fund CERN?

U.S. to contribute $531 million to CERN's Large Hadron Collider project | CERN.