Having engaged innumerable visitors in the world of particle physics for the past 32 years, the CERN Microcosm closed its doors for the last time on 18 September in preparation for CERN’s new flagship Science Gateway project, opening in 2023. The well-loved exhibition space opened to the public in 1990 to help CERN share its research openly, offering a glimpse behind the scenes to both tourists and schools alike.
Over the years, the exhibitions have evolved considerably. The first version of Microcosm included an exhibition by the European Space Agency, highlighting the strong ties between CERN and other European research organisations, which continue today through the EIROforum network. In 1997 CERN Director-General Chris Llewellyn Smith inaugurated a revamped exhibition with content in four languages and stories of new projects such as the LHC. Two years later, a new exhibition was added to Microcosm’s portfolio, telling the story of research on the weak force, with large pieces of the Antiproton Accumulator and the UA1 and UA2 detectors. The 2000s brought hands-on experimentation for the first time and a demo area for science shows. In 2014 S’Cool LAB arrived, home to the expanding programme of experimentation for high-school students and teachers. And in 2015 the latest version of Microcosm opened, with new exhibitions offering a behind-the-scenes tour of the lab, together with realistic audiovisual content of scientists and engineers.
In recent years, Microcosm has also made great strides towards improving accessibility, with wheelchair-accessible design, signing and subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing, and tactile content for the visually impaired – an effort that will be continued and strengthened at Science Gateway. “Microcosm has been strongly supported by many at CERN over the years,” says Emma Sanders, head of exhibitions at CERN. “I suspect I won’t be the only one to feel a little emotional on its closure, but we all look forward to the next step, with the opening of Science Gateway next June.”
