150 Bulgarian students visit CERN

Between 27 March and 8 April 2010, 150 Bulgarian students from the Astronomical Observatory in Varna visited CERN as part of the “From Galileo to CERN” programme.
“It’s interesting to combine astronomy and particle physics”, explains Svejina Dimitrova, organiser of the programme and Director of Varna Astronomical Observatory. The three groups, each one comprising 50 students, first visited Pisa, Padua and other places in Italy  related to Galileo’s life. “Thanks to the visit, students understood telescopes and why Galileo is such an important scientist”, says Svejina. After Italy, they came to CERN for three days and visited several sites: Linac, the Computer Centre CCC, etc.

“They became aware that particle physics is not only theoretical, but also practical”, confirms Svejina. And many vocations were born among the young students: “Since their CERN visit, they want to be scientists, physicists or engineers!”, enthuses Svejina. The students are now preparing posters, presentations and other articles for a conference "CERN for Science and Society", which will take place on 30 May in Varna.

by Alizée Dauvergne