Progress on the new exhibit

18 November 2008

Looking in on the the Control Room through the windows of the exhibit



The new public exhibit at Point 1 is taking shape. Every square cm of the new space in building SCX1 is already distributedand the furniture is due to arrive this week. By the end of January, visitors to ATLAS will be able to experience physics from a close perspective, thanks to this new exhibit designed by Juliette Davenne.

The space in building SCX1 has been accommodated in several areas to address different topics, all relevant to the physics behind the ATLAS detector. 

As visitors enter the building, they will see physicists working in the control room, but will not disturb their work, thanks to the transparent glass put between the entry hall and the control room. “Sets of interactive screens devoted to ATLAS people will also be located in this area,” Juliette explains.

One set will consist of ATLAS people’s photos taken by Claudia Marcelloni; every photo will be accompanied by a quote from the physicist portrayed. The second interactive activity will be the ‘ATLAS quiz’, which will be mainly aimed at teenagers. It will contain pictures and questions and answers related to the physics of the ATLAS detector to follow one of the main mandates in the ATLAS communication plan. “This is to draw teenagers into physics, and science in general,” says Juliette.

“We want to fight the cliché that physicists are geeks, we want to convey the message that physicists are normal people!” laughs Juliette.

In the same area, there will also be an interactive ‘ATLAS game’, with questions related to trigger and data acquisition.

Another exhibit section is called “Giants of Physics” with a big interactive screen based in a new technology, which will show videos, pictures and analogies.

In the SCX1 exhibit area, there will also be a corner for visitors to take a break after playing physics games. Just next to it, an innovative screen in the shape of half-sphere will show visitors that the ATLAS detector construction and operation involve countries scattered all over the world.

The “Mysteries of the Universe” area will contain interactive screens explaining three main ingredients in particle physics: the Higgs boson, dark matter and antimatter. “In this area, we want to show that with the ATLAS detector we want to discover what theorists have already predicted,” says Juliette. “But the most exciting thing about the ATLAS physics, would probably be to find something different from what we are looking for!”

Helfried Burckhart is working closely with Juliette revising the scientific contents of the exhibit. Other ATLAS physicists, like Manuela Cirilli and Pauline Gagnon, have been collaborating with Juliette to find the best ways to convey the ALTAS message to the world.

Now that the access to the ATLAS pit is closed, thanks to the new exhibit, visitors will soon have the opportunity to experience physics at ATLAS from a tad closer.

 

Cristina Jimenez

ATLAS e-News