Playing with Protons UK

18 Aug 2025, 09:00 → 22 Aug 2025, 17:00 Europe/Zurich

3179/R-E06 (CERN)

Cristina Lazzeroni (University of Birmingham (GB)), Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

Bringing together UK primary and secondary school teachers, science education specialists and researchers from CERN, the University of Birmingham and STFC, to develop creative approaches to engage students with physics, discovery and innovation.

Sponsored by the LHC experiments, the Ogden Trust, the University of Birmingham, and the Science & Technology Facility Council UK. 

The support of IdeaSquare which provided the location for the programme presentations and workshops is gratefully acknowleged.

Monday 18 August

09:00 → 13:00 Arrival and hostel check-in

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch in Meyrin canteen

14:00 → 14:30 Welcome and site orientation

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

15:00 → 16:00 Visit to the Gateway

16:00 → 16:30 Visit CERN Shop

19:00 → 21:00 Dinner in town

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

Tuesday 19 August

08:30 → 09:00 Introduction to CERN - film

Laying of the foundation stone speeches by Sir Ben Lockspeiser, President of CERN Council and Prof. Felix Bloch Director General, highly recommended

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

09:00 → 10:00 Visit Synchrocyclotron

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

10:30 → 12:30 Workshop 1: Atomic structure (Odgen Trust)

Speaker: Dr Amanda Poole (Odgen Trust)

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch in Meyrin canteen

14:00 → 15:00 Workshop 2: Elementary particles (University of Birmingham)

Speaker: Cristina Lazzeroni (University of Birmingham (GB))

15:00 → 17:00 Visit to B6 - the 'Heart of CERN'

CLEAR control room and exhibition, B6 Exhibition corridor, Billinge Room, Low Energy Ion Ring

Radiotherapy references attached

Speakers: Laurence Matthew Wroe (CERN), Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB)), Vilde Flognfeldt Rieker

19:30 → 22:30 After dinner walk to UA1

Walk through the fields to visit (the ghost of) UA1 to celebrate the discovery of the W and Z bosons in 1983.

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

Wednesday 20 August

08:30 → 10:30 Workshop3: CERN Creative Challenge (Odgen Trust)

Speaker: Dr Carole Kenrick

11:00 → 12:30 Guest lecture: Playing with the Universe

Speaker: Jonathan R. Ellis (University of London (GB))

13:00 → 13:45 Lunch in Meyrin canteen

13:45 → 15:15 Visit to Lab 2 (CCC and AMS)

Visits to the CERN (Accelerator) Control Centre and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Payload Operations Control Centre

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

15:30 → 18:00 Visit to CMS

Underground visit to CMS including the experiment cavern. Thanks to CMS and CERN Visits Service for support.

Speakers: Michael Hoch (Florida State University (US) and Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (GER)), Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

18:30 → 21:00 Drinks, Dinner and conversation, with CERN guests

Thursday 21 August

08:30 → 11:30 Visit to Computing Centre, and history walk-around CERN

Globe, CERN Shop, Web Corridor B1, Antimatter Factory, Data Centre timeline of CERN computers including Wim Klein, (plus home for retired mice and LINAC 4 boundary stone)

Speaker: Mick Storr (University of Birmingham (GB))

11:30 → 12:30 Lunch and departure