CERN 2024 – Channing Trip
In September, 29 students & 4 staff visited Geneva to see CERN, the United Nations, the History of Science Museum, and the Meyrin Vivarium Museum.
“In the tunnels of the LHC, communication isn’t through words – it’s about colliding particles, where minds unite to decode the universe’s deepest mysteries, transcending any language.”
By Evangelina
Last weekend, we travelled to CERN in Geneva, where our group delved into the fascinating world of particle physics. The museum showcased the fundamental building blocks of our universe by highlighting and explaining particles such as quarks and leptons, with a standout exhibit on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
I learned how the LHC accelerates particles to near-light speeds, leading to groundbreaking discoveries like the Higgs boson. The interactive displays made complex concepts accessible and emphasized the importance of science communication. We also took part in an experiment using dry ice and alcohol, allowing us to see traces of the interactions between particles, modelling what happens between particles in the LHC. This visit deepened my enthusiasm for STEM and demonstrated the collaborative nature of research.
By Catrin
Last Friday, at quarter to five in the morning, a group of thirty STEM students and teachers met at Heathrow Airport. After a delayed flight and train, we arrived in rainy Geneva. Our first stop was the UN buildings, where we toured conference rooms and art exhibits, and even got to listen in on an official debate.
While this was very interesting, we were all excited for our visit to CERN (the European Council for Nuclear Research), which we did the next day. CERN is famous for the Large Hadron Collider, but it also hosts 25 other active experiments, which we got to read and hear about throughout the day. We participated in lab demonstrations and heard from Dr. Paula Collins, a scientist who works on making sensors at CERN, which gave us an amazing insight into the daily life of someone working there.
We finished the trip with bowling, museum visits, and seeing Lake Geneva. Thank you to all the teachers who made this trip happen!
Quotes from the trip:
- “My feet hurt.”
- “Anyone seen Phoenix?”
- “This is the first train I’ve seen cancelled in Geneva in my entire life!”
- “Yeah, go ahead—this is definitely the right boat.”
- “Are we nearly there yet, miss?”