More than 3,000 students virtually tour CERN in Geneva

Muscat: The Ministry of Education, represented by the Department of Innovation and the Scientific Olympiad, carried out the “Peaceful Nuclear Science and Technology Education Project Team” in cooperation with the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, on a virtual visit via video call.

The virtual visit carried out with the participation of 3,420 students from various public and private schools, and 280 teachers and specialists from the governorates’ education departments and the Ministry’s general office.

The visit began with a simple presentation about the quality of research carried out by CERN. It was followed by a tour of the organisation’s laboratory with an explanation by specialists about the devices, components, mechanisms of work and experiments on them, experiments that occur underground. At the end of the presentation the organisation’s specialist answered all inquiries and questions raised by participants.

The visit aims to review some of the qualitative activities and various scientific fields carried out by CERN, especially about particle physics, and to introduce the nature of research and experiments carried out in CERN laboratories, which includes the largest hadron collider in the world.

It also aims to provide an opportunity for students, teachers and those interested to explore the site of the experiments and interaction with specialists and scientists from the organisation, who provided an explanation of the experiments from a physical and practical point of view.

Dr. Maya Al-Azariah, an educational expert in the office of the Minister of Education, in charge of the Department of Innovation and Scientific Olympiad, and head of the Peaceful Nuclear Science and Technology Education Project Team, said that “this visit aims to enhancing the scientific aspects of students, linking them to the latest developments in research fields, and informing them about the various activities carried out by international institutions and organizations to inspire them to be future scientists. In addition to its large research aspects, it also enhances the research aspects of students and teachers through several specialized training programs that it offers, which allow teachers and students to interact with their counterparts from different countries of the world on many research topics.”