[CERN & Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes] Science Communication & Education Workshop

26 Aug 2026, 09:00 → 27 Aug 2026, 19:30 Europe/Zurich

CERN

Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE)), Philipp Gadow (Hamburg University (DE)), Julia Woithe (CERN), Marco Antonio Cristalli (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)

Observing things that are too small to be seen with a human eye is not easy. Yet, at CERN scientists are studying the smallest building blocks of our universe, elementary particles, on a daily bases.

Making this concept graspable and introducing kids, students and the general public to the scientific ideas as well as the required technologies behind it is a challenge which is in no way inferior to the ones in physics research.

This two-day programme will introduce its particitpants hands-on to science communication and education offers at CERN. In addition, a specific focus will be put on bringing science on stage. Visits to different CERN facilities will round up the programme.

Photo: CERN/Marina Cavazza

This workshop is part of the collaboration series of CERN and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes). The majority of the programme points will be in German with some exceptions which are going to take place in English. 

Contact:
Tobias Patrick Treczoks 0041 75 411 8292
CERN Fire Brigade (Emergency) 0041 22 76 74444

CERN Maps:
https://maps.web.cern.ch/

Wednesday 26 August

09:00 → 12:15 Visits to CERN Facilities

09:00 Welcome at CERN

We will kick of the seminar with a short introduction to the highlights of the programme that is awaiting you during the following two days.

Meeting Point: CERN Gate B (arrival as group, https://maps.app.goo.gl/PUVkZbGgK5YYJpcH9)

Speaker: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

2026_08_26_Treczoks_Studienstiftung_Education_Offers.pdf

09:15 Walk to: Synchrocyclotron (SC)

09:25 Visit: Synchrocyclotron (SC)

Fast & furious could be the title for the first part of our visit programme. We will set off with a glimpse into CERN's history and a visit to CERN's very first accelerator the Synchrocyclotron (SC). This machine did not only allow for new scientific discoveries but also fostered nuclear and particle physics research for decades.

Speaker: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

09:55 Walk to: LEIR & LINAC II

10:10 Visit: LEIR / LINAC II

Even faster and more exotic but still compact - in the second part of our visit programme we will have a deeper insight into acceleration technology and CERN's accelerator chain. This will be facilitated by a visit to our two "smaller" accelerators LINAC II and LEIR.

SAFETY RULES: Closed, flat heeled shoes are mandatory. Only limited access for pregnant participants or carriers of active medical implants. Food and drinks allowed in bags or backpacks.

Speakers: Milena Vujanovic (University of Leeds), Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

11:00 Walk to: Antimatter Factory (AD)

11:15 Visit: Antimatter Factory (AD)

Antimatter might appear mysterious but it's very real and since recently it can also be shipped by truck. We'll explore CERN's antimatter factory and get very close to it.

SAFETY RULES: Closed, flat heeled shoes are mandatory. Only limited access for pregnant participants or carriers of active medical implants. Food and drinks allowed in bags or backpacks.

Speakers: Milena Vujanovic (University of Leeds), Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

12:05 Walk to: Restaurant 1 (R1)

12:15 → 13:15 Lunch Break

Lunch in CERN's self-service Restaurant 1 (R1).
Menu available online: https://www.mynovae.ch/en/restaurant/13-restaurant-r1/
Price range: CHF 10 - 20 (payable in Cash CHF/EUR or with card)
Water dispensers are available in the restaurant. So feel free to bring your own bottle.

13:15 → 13:30 Walk to: Science Gateway (SGW)

13:30 → 14:30 Science Show - Exploring the "Mysteries of Matter"

From riding onboard the "Proton Express", over going on a "Journey through a Detector" to exploring the "Mysteries of Matter", Science Shows at CERN are reaching 100 000's of visitors and offer an easy first step into the world of engineering, accelerators, particle physics and much more. In this way they are accesible to the youngest and most experienced visitors at the same time, simultaneously in French and English.

Join us and enjoy the "Mysteries of Matter".

Speakers: Karla Pena (Hamburg University (DE)), Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

14:30 → 17:30 Workshop: Making the Invisible Visible - Lab Demonstration & Science Gateway Exhibitions

14:30 [Group A] Workshop: Visualising the Invisible

Making invisible things visible is both at the heart of the reserach but also the science communication conducted at CERN. The CERN Education Team therefore offers different activities targeted at different age groups to explore this mistery of particle physics. Following the principle "Hands on, Minds on", in this workshop we will explore a transversal cross-section of activities connected to that overarching topic.

[NOTE: Groups A and B swap at 15:45]

Speaker: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

14:30 [Group B] Exhibitions: Explore Science Gateway

CERN Science Gateway is CERN's versatile educational space and offers - besides lab workshops and science shows - exhibtions, which can be explored freely.
Discover CERN, travel from the Big Bang to today, enjoy contemporary art + science projects or play a match of quantum tennis.

[NOTE: Groups A and B swap at 15:45 - Please return to Lab A at 15:45]

15:45 [Group A] Exhibitions: Explore Science Gateway

CERN Science Gateway is CERN's versatile educational space and offers - besides lab workshops and science shows - exhibtions, which can be explored freely.
Discover CERN, travel from the Big Bang to today, enjoy contemporary art + science projects or play a match of quantum tennis.

15:45 [Group B] Workshop: Visualising the Invisible

Making invisible things visible is both at the heart of the reserach but also the science communication conducted at CERN. The CERN Education Team therefore offers different activities targeted at different age groups to explore this mistery of particle physics. Following the principle "Hands on, Minds on", in this workshop we will explore a transversal cross-section of activities connected to that overarching topic.

Speaker: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

17:00 [Optional] CERN Shop

The CERN Shop of Science Gateway remains open until 17:30. No matter if you want to buy the coolest coffee mugs, a t-shirt with a Lagrange density function, actual CERN data, a LEGO LHC model or magnets (that are just slightly less powerful than the LHC magnets), you'll find everything there.

Thursday 27 August

09:00 → 10:30 Science on Stage

09:00 Input: Science on Stage @ CERN

Communicating scientific concepts to larger audiences is often easier if science is brought on a stage. Laura de Vevey is responsible for CERN's science shows, of which more than 1000 were performed since the opening of CERN Science Gateway. She will share her best tricks and tips for performing science on stage.

Meeting point: CERN IdeaSquare (arrival as group, https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Qy94gxW1v1xco3m7)

Speakers: Laura De Vevey, Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))

10:30 → 12:15 Visits to CERN Facilities

10:30 Transfer by bus to: ALICE Detector

11:00 Visit: ALICE Cavern

If you hear of ALICE you might be thinking about the journeys into the wonderland. Instead, researchers attempt to "travel back" towards the Big Bang using ion collisions to recreate states that existed only fractions of a second after this moment.
We will be intorduced into this research and the fascinating machine which is used to detect these collisions.

SAFETY RULES: Closed, flat heeled shoes are mandatory. Only limited access for pregnant participants, carriers of active medical implants, people with mobility issues or persons who have recently undergone treatment with radioactive medical products. Please leave backpacks etc. on the bus.

Speakers: Andreas Morsch (CERN), Nicolas Tiltmann (CERN, Universität Münster (DE))

12:00 Transfer by bus to: Restaurant 1 (R1)

12:15 → 13:45 Lunch Break

Lunch in CERN's self-service Restaurant 1 (R1).
Menu available online: https://www.mynovae.ch/en/restaurant/13-restaurant-r1/
Price range: CHF 10 - 20 (payable in Cash CHF/EUR or with card)
Water dispensers are available in the restaurant. So feel free to bring your own bottle.

13:45 → 17:00 Workshop: Bringing Science on Stage

13:45 Walk to: CERN Idea Square

14:00 Workshop: Bringing Science on Stage

Now it is your turn to bring particle physics to the stage. We will explore the tools of good science communication: finding the one central idea, using storytelling and dramaturgy, and beating stage fright. Our example will be the science slam, a format invented in Germany in which researchers present their own work to a lay audience in ten minutes. After an analysis of a slam, you will take a research topic from CERN in small groups and bring it to the stage yourselves with everything you have learned.

Speaker: Philipp Gadow (Hamburg University (DE))

Material 1

Material 2

Material 3

Material 4

17:00 → 17:30 Transfer by bus to: Prévessin BBQ Area

17:30 → 19:30 DAC - Summer Celebrations

It's summer! And that is a good time and reason for the Forum of German Employees, Fellows and Doctoral Students (DAC) to organise a gathering. Depending on the meteorlogical situation, a BBQ is planned with a potluck-party as an alternative option.
A decision on how food will be organised will be taken closer to the event. -> Update: A potluck-party it is!

Speaker: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))