Visits: access & bookings

There are two main areas involved in a visit to the Data Centre:

  • The Gallery and Museum.
  • The Data Centre VisitPoint permanent exhibition.

Reservation is compulsory for any visit to the Data Centre areas in order to avoid tour-group clashes, and also to respect fire hazard/safety limits in these zones.

Room availability

The availability calendar for the room can be consulted here: https://publicoutreach.cern.ch/outreach/

Opening hours

  • Monday: 10am - 7pm
  • Tuesday to Friday: 8am - 7pm
  • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Please note that when a group is in the DCVP, a red light is displayed above the door in the corridor outside to indicate the room is occupied. The red light goes out only when the sensors in the room do not detect any movement for five minutes (ie. after a group has left). A ‘grey’/off light will indicate the room is empty.

Safety rules

  • Maximum number of visitors at any one time (including 1 or 2 guides per group) is:
    • 25 in the Data Centre VisitPoint room;
    • 19 in the Gallery and 25 in the Museum;
    • 19 in the Data Centre (VIP visits only)
  • Please see the noise protection regulations if guiding in the Data Centre itself.
  • Visitors must stay together with the guide at all times – no wandering permitted.
  • Access to the DC is only possible with guides (staff) who have followed the correct training and have sufficient access rights on their CERN access cards.
  • Minimum age of visitors:
    • For the DataCentre Visitpoint: 10 years old;
    • For inside the Data Centre: 13 years old, and under 16's must be accompanied by an adult.

Contacts

For guides: https://guides.web.cern.ch/dcvp

For visitors: https://visit.cern/

Any questions or suggestions, please contact Tim.Smith@cern[dot]ch

If you encounter a problem with the room (technical, content), please contact the Visits and Exhibitions Service.

Booking the Data Centre Visit Point

In order to use the Data Centre VisitPoint ("DCVP"), you must have:

  1. A confirmed room booking - see procedure below.

  2. ADaMS access granted.

    1. This is automatic for IT Department staff.

    2. For non-IT staff, this will require you to attend DCVP training, and you can only access the room on the day of your booking. See Be a Guide for further information.

Under no circumstances is anyone permitted to enter the room ad hoc.

Book the main DCVP

The central CERN Visits Service handles the authorisation for the DCVP requests.

    Book inside the Data Centre ("Data Centre Inside")

    NB this is for VIPs, academic, industrial partners, and professional visits only.

    To reserve your visit slot, fill in a private visit request (CERN login required) and select "Data Centre Inside".

    The IT Secretariat handles the authorisation for these requests.