This time for ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ families and friends
Over the past twelve years, thousands of people have filed through the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ gates on the occasion of the biannual Open Doors Days. Initiated in 2011, when construction works had just begun on the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ platform, the operation offers visitors a unique opportunity to take in the size and scope of the project and discuss progress and challenges with the people who know it best: the experts from the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Organization, the European agency Fusion for Energy, and their various contractors.
On Open Doors Day, several dozen volunteers are on deck—the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Director-General sometimes among them—to guide visitors, answer questions, and share their passion for the unique scientific, industrial and human venture that they are part of.
On Saturday 24 June, the day was tailored for the families and friends of project collaborators—an occasion for close to 650 spouses and children, parents and friends to see for themselves the reality that they hear so much about.
And the reality was, as always, impressive: oversized crane hooks, dizzying perspectives, and huge components—as "high as a five-storey building" and as "heavy as a fully-loaded jumbo jet"—clasped in the wings of giant handling tools.
At the Visitors Building experts were on hand to provide explanations, while "plasmagicians" gave insights into the laws of physics at work in ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ through basic and often amusing science experiments.
But better than words, the images in the gallery below will give a sense of what an ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Open Doors Day is all about. (The next one will be organized for the public on Saturday 25 November 2023.)
