Beamline for Schools

An international competition of scientific experiment for high school students from all around the world organised by CERN.

Did you ever wonder what it is like to be a scientist? If you’re up for a challenge, the BL4S competition is your chance to experience it. Any high-school student from all around the world can join the adventure. Jump into the world of particle physics and think of a simple and creative experiment.

Beamline for Schools (BL4S) is an official competition which invites teams of high-school students to propose a scientific experiment that they want to perform. The winning teams are invited (with up to two adult team coaches) to a famous physics laboratory (e.g. CERN or DESY) to run their experiment. Teams must have at least five students with at least one adult team coach, but there is no upper limit to a team’s size.

The teams are totally free with respect to the experiment that they want to propose as long as it does not rise any safety concerns. The technical feasibility will be an important criterion for the selection of the winners.

Location

2022 at CERN’s fixed-target beam facilities, near Geneva, Switzerland

Age maximum

18

Age minimum

14

More information

Learn more about BL4S in the official website or contact the BL4S team with your questions.

Partners

The project is funded in part by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. Additional contributions have been received from the Arconic Foundation, as well as from the Ernest Solvay Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation.

Registration procedure

The registration opens the year before the competition which happens in Summer. Proposals can be submitted until the 15 April. The winning teams are notified in June and are invited to the research laboratory in September and/or October.

Learn more about how to apply.

Time of the year

July – March

Language(s)

English

Related articles