Beamline for Schools – Everyone can be a scientist!

Did you ever wonder what it is like to be a scientist? If you’re up for a challenge, the BL4S competition is your chance to experience it. Any high-school student from all around the world can join the adventure. Jump into the world of particle physics and think of a simple and creative experiment.

Who is eligible?
 

The competition is open to teams of high-school students from all around the world. The winning teams are invited to a particle physics accelerator to run their experiment. Teams must have at least five students with at least one adult team coach. At most nine students and two coaches per winning team will be invited to the experimental facility. Teams may be composed of students from a single school, or a number of schools working together. Take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Which experiments can be proposed?
 

Your team is totally free to propose any experiment that involves the use of the particle beam available for the competition. When you first meet with your team mates, and you decide to take part in Beamline for Schools you are not expected to know much about particle physics, particle accelerators and detectors.

The starting point to conceive an experiment is understanding what particle physics experiments with accelerators look like, and finding an idea that stimulates your interest.

Keep in mind that your experiment should not rise any safety concern. The technical feasibility will be an important criterion for the selection of the winners. We know that judging what is feasible and what is not may be difficult for you. Refer to this support document for information or get in touch with one of our national contacts or with us. All the details about the structure of the experimental proposal can be found here.

When is the deadline for the proposal submission?
 

The deadline for 2023 is midnight CET on April the 12th 2023. The results will be announced in June 2023. 

Questions? 

Please first read our FAQs. Most questions we receive are already answered in there.

See our national contacts for several countries to get help in your language. Join our BL4S Facebook group and discuss with like-minded from all around the world.

More questions? Contact us directly via bl4s.team@cern.ch.