Science & Secret Frontiers
Particle colliders, launch pads and research complexes where humanity probes the edge of the known — the modern cathedrals of mystery, open to visitors who book ahead.
You can visit the places where humanity probes the edge of the known. This guide to science tourism covers particle colliders, rocket launch complexes and research facilities open to the public — CERN's Large Hadron Collider, NASA's Kennedy Space Center and more. Each site is mapped, rated for mystery and written up with what you actually see on a tour, how far ahead to book (free CERN tours sell out fast), launch-viewing tips and how long to allow. For anyone planning a space centre visit, a physics pilgrimage or a science-led family trip.
2 destinations
Science & Secret Frontiers destinations
Merritt Island, United States
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, is where the Apollo Moon missions and the Space Shuttle launched. It is still an active spaceport. The visitor complex sits next to launch pads that are used today, and you can stand under a real Saturn V rocket.
Meyrin, Switzerland
CERN & the Large Hadron Collider
CERN sits on the border between Switzerland and France, near Geneva. Under the fields runs a 27 km circular tunnel where scientists smash particles together to find out what the universe is made of. The Higgs boson was confirmed here in 2012.