From 3 to 13 October 2025, you can discover the theme of “Intelligence(s)” during the Fête de la science, which is taking place across France, including throughout the Pays de Gex. CERN is taking this opportunity to get involved in a collaborative science trail, coordinated and run by Addictlab, with a variety of events and activities.
This collaborative science trail takes in 28 sites across the whole of the Pays de Gex, with many communes, associations, businesses and researchers taking part. Over 50 activities and almost 100 event slots are available for schools, families and the general public. The full programme for the trail can be found at https://addictlab.academy/fdls2025/.
To find out more about the activities specifically organised by CERN, both on the site at the Science Gateway in Meyrin and off the site in Annecy, Cessy, Divonne-les-Bains, Chanay, Ferney Voltaire, Saint-Genis-Pouilly and Valserhône, take a look at the programme below:
- Meyrin (CERN Science Gateway): (3–13 October, except Mondays)
Immersive activities at the Science Gateway
Join us at CERN to explore the Universe. From 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, during the Fête de la Science (and all year round!), come and discover CERN free of charge at the Science Gateway by taking part in guided tours, lab workshops and much more. With hands-on experiments, real scientific objects, an immersive environment and interactive features, the exhibitions at the Science Gateway bring CERN to life.
Free entry. For more details, see: https://visit.cern
- Meyrin (CERN Science Gateway): 3 October
Partage ta science (Share your science)
For the official opening of the Fête de la science 2025, the event Partage ta science (Share your science) in CERN Science Gateway, organised by CERN with the support of the Department of Public Education (Canton of Geneva) and in collaboration with the Academy of Lyon (France), will give you the opportunity to discover final-year secondary school projects that cover a range of scientific disciplines, from maths to biology, physics, chemistry or engineering. Pupils from the Pays de Gex and Geneva will each have a few minutes to share their science!
Free entry (registration recommended). For more information, see: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1553867/
- Divonne-les-Bains (DivonneLab / Maison de la gare): 3–13 October
The exhibition CERN in Images provides an overview of the work going on at the Laboratory, its key discoveries and the technological applications it has developed in the past 70 years.
For more information, see: https://addictlab.academy/divonnelab/
- Annecy - Open days at the Annecy Particle Physics Laboratory (LAPP): 4–5 October
Lots of activities, workshops and tours
Take the opportunity to discover the exhibition CERN in Images and follow a talk by Manuela Cirilli: “From particle physics to medicine”.
Free entry. For more information, see: https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/36353
- Cessy (Sessius1622): 8–12 October
In 1989, the World Wide Web was invented at CERN. British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who played a key role in its creation, was a resident of Cessy.
Discover how his ideas, destined to aid communication and collaboration between large international groups of scientists, have been transformed into a global phenomenon.
The interactive exhibition also features the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector, which is located at one of the four collision points of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world, with a circumference of 27 km. The CMS experiment is located right here in Cessy, only 1 kilometre from Sessius1622.
Exhibition and augmented reality tour of CERN’s CMS site.
Sessius1622, 573 rue de la Mairie, Cessy
Opening event: 8 October, 6.00 p.m.
9–12 October, 2.30 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. / Free entry
Exclusive tour of CERN’s CMS site – 10 October, 6.00 p.m.
Descend into the heart of the collider at a depth of 97 m.
Duration: around two hours / limited capacity (max. 48, minimum age 8) – Sign up in person on 8 or 9 October at the exhibition.
- Gex (Salle des fêtes – 77 rue de l’horloge): 8–9 October
Science show Journey through a detector
The science show “Journey through a detector” will plunge audiences into the fascinating world of particle physics. Like detectives on the trail of invisible clues, physicists use ultra-sophisticated detectors to reconstruct the tracks of particles that are impossible to observe directly. This interactive show allows you to follow the particles’ journey through the different layers of the detectors and discover how these instruments can reveal the invisible.
The show, which will be in French and accessible to adults and children aged 12 and over, will take you right to the heart of the technologies used at CERN to explore the mysteries of the Universe.
Multiple performances. Free event, registration required:
- Individual registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6883779/gex-fete-de-la-science-2025-cern
- Registration for school groups: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6881102/fete-de-la-science-2025-pour-classes-ecoles
- Chanay (Library and Salle des fêtes) 9 October
CERN exhibition, talk, workshop and demonstrations
9.30 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.: exhibition CERN in Images in the Library
9.30 a.m. – 10.00 a.m.: short talk on CERN (salle des fêtes)
10.00 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.: demonstrations and workshops
Demonstrations: Dive into the future of robotics at CERN!
– Discover how CERN’s state-of-the-art robots are used in extreme environments to inspect, maintain and secure the most complex facilities in the world.
– Meet our mobile robots, large and small, and see how they are being developed.
– Discover their applications and control interfaces.
Artificial intelligence workshops
For ages 6 and over. Workshops last a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes and are led by CERN guides and volunteers from CERN’s IT Club.
The workshop Machine intelligence offers you the chance to explore different forms of intelligence and how computers might be able to understand them.
- Valserhône (Louis Dumont school): 9 October
Talks, workshops and demonstrations
Afternoon, Thursday 9 October at the Louis Dumont school, Valserhône, from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. (activities reserved for pupils)
Programme:
Talk: Une brève histoire du CERN – La recherche fondamentale en physique : pourquoi et comment ? (“A brief history of CERN: The how and why of fundamental research in physics”) by Stephan Petit. Length: 90 minutes (presentation and question-and-answer session), two sessions (three class groups per session).
This talk will highlight the research being conducted at CERN to unravel the mysteries of the infinitely small and its relationship with the cosmos. It will also cover the different technologies currently being used, their many applications and the incredible community of scientists working together every day to further the progress of fundamental science.
A shorter version of the talk will be given for sixième (first-year) classes.
Robotics demonstrations
Machine intelligence workshops
- Ferney Voltaire (Château - Science village, event organised by Pangloss Labs in partnership with the municipality of Ferney-Voltaire and the Centre des monuments nationaux): 11 October
Robotics demonstrations, AI workshops, science shows:
For more information, see:  https://www.fetedelascience.fr/village-des-sciences-de-ferney-voltaire-0
- Saint-Genis-Pouilly (Théâtre du Bordeau): 12 October
Journey into the future with CineGlobe and CERN.
In partnership with the town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly and CERN, CineGlobe in orbit invites you to explore the place where art meets science in a new way.
11.00 a.m. – Petit CineGlobe: new short-film releases for children from the 2025 edition, which explore the theme of entanglement.
11.00 a.m. – Zoetrope workshop (7 years and up): discover the origins of animated film and learn how to bring still images to life.
3.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. – CERN interactive workshop (for ages 6 and over): explore human and artificial intelligence with interactive challenges led by scientists and volunteers from the CERN IT Club.
4.00 p.m. – Children’s tea party.
5.00 p.m. – preview screening of Arco, winner of the Cristal award for best feature film at the 2025 Annecy Animation Film Festival: a futuristic and poetic tale of time, friendship and future worlds.
6.30 p.m. – roundtable discussion on quantum youth and cinema.
7.00 p.m. – join us for a drink to round off the day.
Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.
Free entry. For more information, see: https://cineglobe.ch/cineglobe-en-orbite-a-saint-genis-pouilly/
https://bordeau.saint-genis-pouilly.fr/cinema/arco/
- Find all the activities on offer at the Fête de la science in the Pays de Gex at https://addictlab.academy/fdls2025/