AAS Sofia Students Visit CERN

Grade 12 IB Physics students take learning from the textbook to the Particle Accelerator. 

When the Grade 12 IB Physics students approached their teacher, Sarah Steward, about a visit to CERN (or The Large Hadron Collider), which is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator and is located near Geneva, Switzerland, she told them: “If you help plan it, I’ll help to make it happen.” Within days, students returned with a cost estimate and planned dates. After some logistics of applying for a spot (free for schools, but must be requested months in advance), off to CERN they went. 

From Sarah’s perspective: “to watch them see their learning come together and for them to see some real-science in action was an experience we hope for all of our students. It reminded me how important learning is outside the classroom and that giving our students an opportunity to see their knowledge in an applied real-world context is invaluable.” Sarah shared that it was not only about giving students the opportunity to see the very abstract Quantum and Particle Physics in real time, but also for students to see how vital collaboration is for scientific study. Approximately 18,000 people work at CERN and it is the combined expertise that keeps it running. 

The trip consisted of a tour to visit the two working accelerators, the control rooms and the decommissioned original synchrocycloton. The highlight for students (and teachers) was the lab workshop where a particle physicist led them through the process of building their own cloud chamber. Students were able to see the tracks of invisible small particles that exist everywhere in the world around us. Many of the students expressed surprise and confidence at how much their classroom learning allowed them to engage with the experience. 

For Sarah, “while watching the connection click into place as they listened to real-life experts, I realised that this experience improves their understanding and content knowledge far more effectively than some of my own classroom activities.” 

And perhaps most telling, when asked to describe his experience, a student said, “it was like stepping into the future.” 

When we support our students’ agency with intentionality, and are also able to occasionally take the learning outside of the classroom, we are providing truly life-changing experiences for our learners.