In 2016, SBA undertook a unique educational programme based on the fundamentals of learning through involvement — the visit to European Council for Nuclear Research, CERN.

CERN is a European Organisation for Nuclear Research and was founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded with the quest to find out answers to questions like “What happened at the time of Big Bang, How did universe come into existence? What is the matter made up of? What are most fundamental particles? Who gave mass to the matter? Our students got the opportunity to interact with the topmost scientists and project heads at CERN and discover the science behind most of their childhood scientific dilemmas.

The study tour began with a session on CERN’s history, followed by how the particles are accelerated and injected in the huge 100km Hadron collider. This was followed by a visit to SM-18 (Atlas site) where the team was separated into smaller groups and showed the major facilities like the particle accelerator including the dipole and the quadrupole magnets and how they helped the particles accelerate. Further, the group was shown the different kinds of detectors and a 1:1 scale photograph of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid). The team also visited the underground CMS site.

The team also paid a visit to the Globe, a public museum which is filled with holographic technology and shows the people CERN’s research and importance of it.

Throughout the study tour, the students got an insight into the beautiful world of particle physics and how it is helping other areas like medicine. Students were apprised of and given a chance to explore how miniature particle accelerators are used in scanners to scan our body and to diagnose the disease. Students were also given information about how particle physics is used in chemotherapy to treat cancer. The students were overawed by the level of facilities that CERN possessed.

Students also had fun exploring the city of Geneva through a game of treasure hunt. Students visited the UN headquarters in Geneva and caught a glimpse of how activities are conducted there by visiting the various convention and conference rooms.

At the end of the tour, the students were given a badge displaying the CMS in its full glory as a token of appreciation. The tour had ignited a fire of learning in the students and they came back with rich memories and big dreams.