Showcase for cutting-edge research: SCIENCE POP-UP by GSI/FAIR brings science to the city
24.03.2025 |
Virtual worlds, playful moments, modern didactics and science you can touch: the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and the international accelerator center FAIR, currently under construction, will focus even more strongly on promoting young talent and imparting knowledge in the future. With the new SCIENCE POP-UP in Darmstadt's city center, GSI/FAIR aims to enthuse young and old about science and technology: a hands-on space with hands-on science, open to all and tailored for pupils. The opening was on March 24, 2025 at Ernst-Ludwig-Straße 22 in Darmstadt in the presence of the management of GSI and FAIR, representatives from politics, scientific and educational institutions and schoolchildren.
The SCIENCE POP-UP project by GSI/FAIR will be implemented for a limited period over the summer in a currently unused store in Darmstadt's city center. It was developed in close cooperation with the store space and district management of Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt Marketing GmbH. The Stadtpunkte project of the store space and district management is testing new inner-city concepts in vacant spaces, and is funded by the inner city program “Sustainable inner cities and centers” of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building.
The aim of the GSI/FAIR hands-on space is to temporarily bring a part of research and high-tech to the center of the city of science Darmstadt and to spark the fascination for physics in young and old. As a world-class research center with close roots in Darmstadt and the region, GSI/FAIR is also pleased to contribute to the revitalization of the city centre with the temporary use of a currently vacant store space.
The innovative project offers a wide range of topics, from creative knowledge transfer for all interested parties to targeted didactic support for future researchers. In the hands-on exhibition, passers-by as well as, for example, the physics club of a school can gain interesting insights into research at particle accelerators. Young teams and experienced researchers from GSI and FAIR present various topics and are available to answer any questions visitors may have. What are the smallest building blocks of the universe? How do detectors make the invisible visible? Where do the elements come from?
There are special offers for school classes, virtual tours and much more. In addition, workshops and lectures make it possible for people in and around Darmstadt to experience cutting-edge research at GSI and FAIR. At the interactive stations, explorers of all ages can learn what it means to discover the universe in the laboratory, for example by making natural radiation visible in a cloud chamber or playing the accelerator game to see how particles are brought up to speed in the GSI/FAIR linear accelerator. A VR station builds a virtual bridge from the city center to the GSI/FAIR campus in Darmstadt-Wixhausen and, using virtual reality glasses, takes visitors directly to the facilities of the existing research center and the FAIR mega construction project. A unique opportunity to get to know top international research up close and to take a look into the future of research with FAIR. (BP)
Statements on the opening
Professor Dr. Thomas Nilsson, Scientific Managing Director of GSI and FAIR: “We are very pleased to be able to provide an attractive and free educational offer in the STEM area. With this project, we want to spark curiosity and fascination for research in young people. Science needs interested young students and many bright minds who use their talent for research. But also the general public is also always welcome to experience and feel the enthusiasm that drives us researchers and to make exciting discoveries about the universe in the laboratory.”
Heike Hofmann, Hessian Minister for Labor, Integration, Youth and Social Affairs: “Children and young people are our future. They are our next scientists, engineers and teachers. I am therefore delighted that the SCIENCE POP-UP is creating a unique platform that invites all citizens to experience science up close and discover complex topics in a hands-on way. Especially at a time when scientific knowledge is shaping our daily lives, it is of vital importance to make research accessible to everyone.”
Hanno Benz, Lord Mayor of Darmstadt, City of Science: “Darmstadt is a city of science and shapes our daily lives. Therefore, it is all the more important to make science perceptible for everyone – especially for the younger generation. The SCIENCE POP-UP by GSI/FAIR does just that: it makes science tangible and exciting. I am delighted that this innovative project is contributing to the vitalization of our inner city and promoting new ideas. Retail, gastronomy, culture, science and urban society - they all belong together and are actively driving the transformation process of our city.”
About GSI/FAIR
The GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt operates a globally unique accelerator facility for ions. Researchers from all over the world use the facility for experiments and to develop new applications in medicine and technology. The new international accelerator center FAIR, one of the world's largest research projects, is currently under construction at GSI. At FAIR, matter that usually only exists in the depth of space will be produced in a lab for research. Scientists expect to gain new insights into the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the present.
Further information
More information and announcements about events at SCIENCE POP-UP by GSI and FAIR
More information about the Stadtpunkte project of the retail space and neighborhood management
