Educational Trip to the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO/VIRGO) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Italy – Switzerland 

Fortytwo 11th grade students participated in the annual school visit to the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO/VIRGO) in Pisa, Italy, and to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland (23 – 27/02/2026). 

The European Gravitational Observatory aims to conduct research in the field of experimental and theoretical studies of gravitational waves in Europe, while also promoting the dissemination of information and providing advanced training to young researchers. 

CERN is one of the largest research centers in the world, with enormous global impact. Its research focuses on the fundamental physics of the structure of matter and the universe. CERN’s accelerator and detector systems are the largest and most complex scientific instruments ever built for studying the basic building blocks of matter, the elementary particles. 

As part of the educational trip, students also visited the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and the Historical Museum – Einstein Museum in Bern. In addition, they toured the main sights of Bern, Lausanne, Geneva, and Milan. 

Before the trip, students attended talks by: 

• Mr. Nikolaos Stergioulas, Professor in the Department of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), on Gravitational Waves. 

• Mr. Christos Lampoudis, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particle Physics (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), on Accelerators and Detectors in Nuclear Physics. 

Students also participated in a guided tour of the Aristotle University Observatory.