To honour its 70 years of contributions to scientific knowledge, technological innovation and international collaboration, CERN has put together a rich and diverse programme, at CERN and across its Member States, Associate Member States and beyond. This programme includes exhibitions, the first of which can now be visited at Geneva Airport as part of a collaboration between the two organisations. Inaugurated yesterday, 2 May, the exhibition’s three components will occupy the wall leading to the security check before entering the departure lounge, the “Panorama” terrace and the international terminal until autumn 2024.

CERN is celebrating 70 years of exploring the smallest constituents of matter and understanding how they evolved since the very beginnings of the Universe to eventually make up everything we see today.

At the heart of CERN’s exciting quest to understand the secrets of the Universe is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. It propels particles to close to the speed of light before bringing them into collision, thus allowing scientists to explore many mysteries about particle physics that play into how the Universe came to be. 

Laid out along the wall leading to the security check before entering the departure lounge, the “CERN: Your ticket to the Universe” exhibition takes visitors on a journey from the Big Bang to today’s galaxies, making the connection between CERN’s research and our understanding of some of the mysteries of the Universe. “Are we made of stardust?”, “How were the first stars born?” and “Where does mass come from?” are some of the questions visitors will find answers to, either on the inspiring panels or in animations linked to via QR codes.

Just behind the Montreux Jazz Café in the arrivals lounge is a lift to the “Panorama” terrace, where “CERN in images” gives visitors an overview of CERN’s activities, main discoveries and technological applications over the last 70 years. A selfie spot and short movies are extra activities to be explored in this area.

For those who wonder where the LHC and its four large experiments are situated, signs in the international departure lounge will help visitors identify these discrete landmarks. Fliers in a window seat may even be able to see CERN’s surface sites below their plane.

To learn more about CERN70 anniversary events around the world, visit cern70.cern. If you want to know more about CERN, plan a visit to Science Gateway.