Telling science to the general public, especially the younger ones. With this aim, the Science Gateway, the new access “portal” of CERN, was born in Geneva. The first stone was laid today, with a little delay due to Covid compared to the scheduled time, in front of the current entrance of the European Nuclear Research Center led by Fabiola Gianotti. The project, almost entirely Italian, is by the architect Renzo Piano and has the support of the FCA Foundation, the branch of Stellantis that operates with charitable purposes, and of the Agnelli Foundation, which contributed about 40 of the 70 million euros needed.
“The difficult times we have experienced over the past 18 months have demonstrated the permanent value of science and the need for cooperation that goes beyond borders. Science brings people together and shows how much humankind can accomplish when it puts aside differences and focuses on the common good. Science gives hope and confidence in a better future, ”said Gianotti.
«It is a sign of great optimism. It is an ambitious project that will soon become a reality to help young people, but also the not so young, to understand what is happening at CERN “said the president of Stellantis, John Elkann, who recalled Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA who passed away. in July 2018: “He had a great passion for science and physics, he would have liked to go back to studying it,” he stressed.
The 900-seat auditorium of the Science Gateway designed by Piano will be dedicated to Marchionne. With an area of 7,000 square meters, the Science Gateway will be housed in a new iconic “carbon neutral” structure and will provide a variety of spaces and activities, including exhibitions that will reveal the secrets of nature, from the infinitely small (elementary particles) to the infinitely large (structure and evolution of the universe).
“A glass bridge will connect the different themes and the different parts of the Science Gateway allowing also a live meeting between researchers and children, visitors and physicists, tourists and scientists, all united by curiosity and thirst for knowledge”, explained Renzo Piano . The exhibitions will also be dedicated to CERN accelerators, the experiments conducted by the research center and data processing, how scientists use these resources in their research. Presented for the first time in 2019, it aims to stimulate curiosity and make science in all its dimensions known and loved by as many people as possible.