Tinker imagineers, a leading experience design and production agency, has partnered with CERN to develop exhibitions for the new CERN Science Gateway in Switzerland.
The attraction, which is CERN’s flagship education and outreach facility, opened to visitors on 7 October. Visitors aged five and over can learn about particle physics in three exhibition spaces, Discover CERN, Our Universe, and Quantum World.
The Our Universe exhibition has been created by the Dutch experience design agency Tinker imagineers. This exhibition space is located in one of two iconic tubes featured in the building by RPBW Architects (Renzo Piano Building Workshop).
Pioneering co-production
Our Universe consists of the Back to the Big Bang exhibition, which describes the history of the universe, and the Exploring the Unknown art space, which showcases installations by artists addressing the Big Unanswered Questions in Physics.
Tinker collaborated with Dutch firms Bruns, YIPP, Shosho, and Mansveld to deliver the exhibitions.
Tinker’s scenography and chosen materials echo the principles and precision with which CERN builds its experiments, providing a powerful link to its innovative work. With CERN as its design inspiration, the exhibition is rich in interactive experiences that will spark visitors’ interest in the mysteries of the universe.
Stan Boshouwers, owner of Tinker and project director of the Gateway, shares: “It was incredible to work at the frontiers of human knowing. For instance, the Big Bang film, going back in time towards a billionth of a billionth of a second from the origin of everything, was a thrilling co-production between CERN and Tinker. I really felt we were pioneering at that stage.”
Secrets of the cosmos
Back to the Big Bang takes visitors on a journey through time, which begins with the opportunity to witness real-time particle detection.
A timeline that spans the entire length of the exhibition space presents visitors with a fascinating journey through nearly 14 billion years, reaching back from the present to the Early Universe and the Big Bang. This display allows visitors to explore the evolution of our universe and develop an in-depth understanding of its origins, with a tactile design that is accessible for blind and visually impaired visitors.
The centre of the space features a series of interactive exhibits designed to look like laboratory setups. Visitors can enjoy a film which will transport them to within a fraction of a second of the Big Bang. This explores the groundbreaking science of CERN and provides captivating insights into the secrets of the cosmos.
Exploring the Unknown investigates science’s unanswered questions and explores the spaces where science and art meet. The focal point is a commissioned piece from German artist Julius von Bismarck, who has made a stunning tesseract installation inspired by the enigmatic concept of higher dimensions.
Tinker has produced a short film documenting the making of this art installation and has enhanced the exhibition experience through the use of information consoles which further the fusion of art and science.
The project team include:
Client: CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics)
Year: 2023
Exhibition design: Tinker imagineers
Set construction: Bruns
Interactives: YIPP
AV content Big Bang film: Shosho
AV hardware: Mansveld
Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Earlier this year, Tinker imagineers, completed a project with the New Media Museum of the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, the most interactive museum in the world, which had undergone a two-and-a-half-year renovation.
All images kind courtesy of Mike Bink / Tinker imagineers
