Fermilab, Illinois

• 

Details

Scientific field: High-Energy Physics

Star rating: ***

Summary description:
The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, is one of the world’s largest particle accelerators. Parts of the Fermilab site, west of Chicago, are open to the public every weekday, but once a month (normally the first Sunday of the month) the Laboratory’s staff offer a special behind-the-scenes tour of the facilities. This three-hour program takes visitors to the Linac (linear accelerator) complex, also visiting the main control room. Each session starts with a presentation by a scientist, who answers questions on everything from the Higgs boson to how a particle accelerator works. Shorter introductory guided tours are available once a week (Wednesdays). A further attraction at Fermilab is the Lederman Science Center, which offers hands-on science exhibits and experiments in physics aimed primarily at students aged 11-14 (US grades 6-8).

Location:
Batavia, Illinois, approximately 25 miles (45 km) west of central Chicago.

Getting there:
From Chicago, drive west on the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290) continuing onto Interstate 88 (80 cents). Exit Interstate 88 at the Farnsworth exit, north or right (60 cents). Farnsworth becomes Kirk Road. Follow Kirk Road to Pine Street. Turn right at Pine Street, Fermilab's main entrance. From O'Hare Airport, take Interstate 90 east towards Chicago. After two miles, take Interstate 294 south, towards Indiana (80 cents). From Interstate 294 take the exit to Interstate 88, the east-west tollway, towards Aurora (80 cents). From Interstate 88, take the Farnsworth exit (60 cents).

Background:
Fermilab was founded in 1967 as the National Accelerator Laboratory, and renamed in 1974 in honour of the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who for many years carried out research at the University of Chicago. Fermilab’s particle accelerator, called the Tevatron, is the second largest in the world. At the Tevatron, beams of protons and antiprotons are collided together, with the aim of investigating conditions in the early universe and the structure of matter at the smallest scale. A major discovery at the Tevatron occurred in 1995 with the detection of a fundamental particle known as the top quark. Fermilab is also host to a number of smaller experiments, including neutrino experiments. A small herd of American bison, started at the lab's founding, lives on the grounds symbolising Fermilab's presence on the frontier of physics and its connection to the American prairie.

Opening hours and charges:
The Fermilab site is open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm from mid-October to mid-April and from 8 am to 8 pm for the rest of the year. However, visitors are permitted unguided access only to the Lederman Science Center, which is open Monday to Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, one other building, and an outside area from which the bison herd can be viewed. For the special once-a-month “Ask a Scientist” guided tour (normally held on the first Sunday of the month, from 1 pm to 4 pm, available to individuals and small groups), there is no charge but advance registration is required. To sign up, register online, send e-mail to Nancy Lanning ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), or call on 630 840-5588. The shorter Wednesday guided tours start at 10.30 am and no prior registration is required. Children aged 10 and older are welcome on these tours, but an adult must accompany them. Two-hour private guided tours are also available for people high-school age and older, including university groups (private tours are the only option for groups of 10 or more). Private tours have to be booked at least 2 weeks in advance, and there is a charge for them.

Website: http://www.fnal.gov

Related sites:
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), near Geneva, France/Switzerland