CERN Science Gateway

Why is there more matter than antimatter? Why didn’t the Big Bang change that? If these and other questions of the cosmos have stymied you, the new CERN Science Gateway, a family-friendly, admission-free offshoot of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, will help. While the main campus carries out serious scientific exploration (it's home to the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator), the Gateway, opened in fall 2023, bridges the gap between the general public and the people in lab coats. The idea of a bridge was taken literally by master of hi-tech architecture Renzo Piano, who built the donation-funded project with a transparent skywalk between two raised tubular buildings (reminiscent of his Centre Pompidou in Paris). The bridge soars over the Route de Meyrin, which cuts through a swath of Swiss forest. Within the tubular tunnels are a series of labs and exhibition spaces where science is brought to life for all ages, preschool to adult: workshops range from making slime detectors to using liquid nitrogen to explore the properties of superconductors. The Gateway also foregrounds the dialogue between art and science, with works by the likes of German installation artist Julius von Bismarck, Swiss sculptor Chloé Delarue, and Korean artist and electronic music composer Yunchul Kim. These join the main campus’ large, beloved installation "Wandering the Immeasurable," by Canadian sculptor Gayle Hermick, which pays bendy tribute to the spread of knowledge.

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