On 30 January 2019, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was visited by a group of students, teachers, and graduates of the Moscow School # 179. A rich programme was organized for the guests: excursions to the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics, the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems, and the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions.

Acquaintance with JINR began in theVeksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics, where Scientific Researcher D. Dryablov spoke about the mega-science project NICA and acquinted the guests with the scientific infrastrusture of the the VBLHEP. O. Kazinova introduced to the visitors the stages of production of superconducting magnets for the future collider.

In the afternoon, the guests were welcomed at the Laboratory of Nuclear Problems. N. Anfimov told the listeners about one of the Laboratory’s activities – neutrino research and showed them the “Dark Room”, a hall where photomultipliers are tested. A. Antoshkin explained the operation principle of the the NOvA experiment control room. School students were offered a fascinating laboratory work on assembling of a particle detector (Wilson chamber), and a demonstration of the operation of an instrument measuring the length of light waves.

The excursion was concluded in the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. A. Voinov told the students about the discovery of new elements in the Periodic Table and applied research conducted in the Laboratory. The researcher also guided a tour to the IC-100 accelerator.

The participants of the excursion shared their comments with the organizers:

Ivan, school student, 9 grade: I was so excited to see the accelerators! They look different in the photos. We learned about joint projects of JINR with the USA and China, the island of stability, and superheavy elements. JINR is buzzing with activity. It’s thrilling.

Alina, graduate of the school, PhD student: We want to express our big gratitude to JINR staff members for their warm and attentive attitude and willingness to answer our questions. They really love what they do, this is so inspiring! Thanks to you, now we know how accelerators are built, and how scientific laboratories can work via the Internet. In addition to the advanced technologies and scientific developments, we learned a lot of interesting things about everyday familiar things like fluorescent lamps and smartphone screens, filters, the Periodic Table elements. And, of course, I can’t but mention the delicious meal in the Canteen and the fresh pine scent on the JINR territory. They nourished our body and mind during the breaks, which helped us a lot to digest all of the new information.

A. Tarchevsky, Physics teacher at School #179: Many thanks to JINR specialists and organizers for the excellent extensive programme made up specifically for our students, teachers, and graduates. This is a unique opportunity to see the practical implementation of numerous ideas we have discussed in class. Moreover, it was a valuable experience for my students to have talks with real scientists working at JINR. A younger generation of our school students is on the way, so…see you soon, JINR!