During her stay at Surval Summer Camp this year, Thalia visited CERN: the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Read her account of her experience.
This morning, I got up early for the first time during my vacation, but for good reason: a visit to CERN was on the agenda today.
After a quick breakfast with a view of Lac Léman, we set off together with two friends and the two teachers on the bus towards Geneva. The journey passed quickly, and we were soon in the parking lot in front of a modern white building. I was fascinated by the architecture, yet I didn't know how more fascinating the inside would be.
On arrival, we were told that we would be joining a tour with a British school, as the five of us were too small a group. As a result, we were able to make new friends with girls from Ascot and ended up walking through the grounds in larger groups.
The tour began with a short introduction from a former employee. She proudly told us how she got an internship at CERN as a student and started her career at CERN. She explained the site in detail on a map and took us through various rooms where the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) was explained in detail. It was very impressive to see how these tubes are constructed and to be shown how they work in detail. The complexity of the LHC and the processes inside were illustrated very well with simplified models.
After a lunch break with our new friends from England, we were allowed to explore the museum on the upper floor of CERN ourselves. The whole place is divided into three parts, each of which explains one aspect of nuclear research in Geneva in detail. The museum is designed to be interactive, making it exciting for younger visitors starting at the age of eight as well as adults.
In the first exhibition, you learn about CERN, more specifically how the tunnels with the LHC are constructed, how a particle accelerator works and there are various educational games for visitors to play. Together with a family from Madrid, I operated a simplified particle accelerator made of magnets and a metal ball (which took many tries until it worked) and learned about the structure of the detectors inside the LHC. Fun fact: such a detector can weigh almost twice as much as the Eiffel Tower in Paris!
In the next section of the museum, our universe was explained. We went on a journey through time, from the Big Bang to the present day. The biggest milestones and discoveries were described with models, texts and games, I made my own star and tried my hand at catching antimatter.
The last part of the museum was my highlight. It is about the world of quantum physics, the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level. At first I was afraid that it would be too complex and incomprehensible, but I was proved wrong. Everything was explained very well and for the first time in my life I didn't have a headache after an hour of physics ;-) I sang quantum karaoke, played a tunnel game and successfully proved myself in quantum tennis.
The best part was the immersive exhibition. Together with 7 other visitors, I was allowed to travel through the world as a quantum particle and overcome various obstacles while an audio guide provided me with explanations of what was happening.
Long story short: today was amazing. I highly recommend signing up for the STEM program, everything we did so far was fun. The thing I liked the most is the visit to CERN; I highly recommend it and there is a good chance that I will go back there with my family. Who knows, maybe you'll find STEM just as exciting as I do.
Best wishes from Montreux,
Thalia Boesch, 17 years old.
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