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Science tourism is a
travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...
topic grouping scientific attractions. It covers interests in visiting and exploring scientific landmarks, including
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
s,
laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...
,
observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
and
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. It also includes visits to see events of scientific interest, such as
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
s. A laboratory is a
workplace A workplace is a location where someone Work (human activity), works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a Small office/home office, home office to a large office building or factory. For Indust ...
and many have ongoing scientific research. They may not be open to the general public, or may only offer occasional special opportunities for public access. Many observatories are open to the public at regular hours, and have tours showcasing their astronomical research.


Museums


Europe


Northern Europe

*
Nobel Museum The Nobel Prize Museum (formerly the Nobel Museum _sv.html" ;"title="/nowiki> sv">Nobelmuseet/nowiki>) is located in the former Stock Exchange Building (''Börshuset'') on the north side of the square Stortorget in Gamla Stan, the old town in c ...
It has exhibitions about the Nobel Prize. *
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Solar System in greater
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, contains the world's largest scale model of the Solar System. * Heureka in
Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
is an interactive science museum, with different kinds of exhibitions about technology, physics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy and so on. Really exciting for children interested in science.


Central Europe

*
Peenemünde Peenemünde (, en, "Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The communi ...
– A place where the Germans developed some of the world's first rockets before and during WW2. * Marie Curie Museum– History of radioactivity * Auto & Technik Museum in
Sinsheim Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geograph ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
(southwestern Germany). Has interesting displays of many vintage and historic cars, motorcycles, other machinery, and an extensive collection of aircraft, including a Soviet Tu 144 and French/Britain Concorde. * Deutsches Museum – A museum of "everything technology" and more. A scientific and technical museum and one of the most important sights in the
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
area, visited by roughly 1.5 million visitors per year. Topics include brewing, computer sciences and bridge building. There are guided tours on specific themes and in different languages. There is a planetarium and two branch offices in other locations, which show vehicles that found no place in downtown Munich. * Zeppelin Museum in the city of
Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
offers a museum dedicated to zeppelins, and another to Dornier aircraft.


Western Europe

* Science Museum London * The Down House – Charles Darwin lived here when he worked out the theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin wrote 'On the Origin of Species' in this house. The house has also carnivorous plants and exotic orchids. * James Clerk Maxwell's Birthplace and Museum – Edinburgh's answer to Newton and Einstein. His equations unified the forces of Electricity and Magnetism and paved the way for Einstein's theory of special relativity. Modern technology in electricity and electronics, derive from Maxwell's discovery of the laws of the electromagnetic field, bringing a fundamental change in concept that influenced greatly the modern scientific and industrial revolution."


Southern Europe

* Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology – Located in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. As the name tells, it is a museum to learn more about science and technology. Hosted in a former monastery, San Vittore al Corpo. * South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology


Eastern Europe

* Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in the outskirts of Moscow there are a couple of sites dedicated to the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and Russian contributions to science and technology. These include the
Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (Russian ''Музей космонавтики'', also known as the Memorial Museum of Astronautics (in English) or Memorial Museum of Space Exploration) is a museum in Moscow, Russia, dedicated to space explo ...
, the All-Russia Exhibition Centre and the
Monument to the Conquerors of Space The ''Monument to the Conquerors of Space'' ( rus, Монуме́нт «Покори́телям ко́смоса», r=Monumént "Pokorítelyam kósmosa", p=mənʊˈmʲent pəkɐrʲˈitʲɪlʲɪm ˈkosməsə) is a giant obelisk erected in Mosc ...
. * Ostankino Tower – high concrete transmission tower, Ostankino Tower. *
Akademgorodok Akademgorodok ( rus, Академгородок, p=ɐkəˌdʲemɡərɐˈdok, "Academic Town") is a part of the Sovetsky District of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, located south of the city center and about west of Koltsovo. It is the edu ...
– Out in the Siberian taiga near
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
, Akademgorodok (literally "academy town") was built during the Soviet era, so that the academic elite could conduct their research in relative freedom, prosperity, and isolation. The planned city with tree lined streets hosts several museums, institutes, as well as a beach on the Ob Sea, an artificial reservoir.


North America

*
Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco, California. Characterized as "a mad scientist's penny arcade, a scientific funhouse, and an experimental laboratory all rolled into one", the participatory natur ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
*
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
in
Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...
- The launch site for NASA's space missions. All 12 persons who have traveled to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
so far have started their journeys from here. *
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in Washington, D.C. *
National Museum of Mathematics The National Museum of Mathematics or MoMath is a museum dedicated to mathematics in Manhattan, New York City. It opened on December 15, 2012. It is located at 11 26th Street (Manhattan), East 26th Street between Fifth Avenue (Manhattan), Fifth ...
or '
MoMath
'' in New York *
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
in Washington, D.C. *
Space Center Houston Space Center Houston is a science museum that serves as the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was designated a Smithsonian Affiliate museum in 2014. The organization is owned by NASA, and operated under a co ...
in Webster,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
- NASA space museum, plus tram tours of Johnson Space Center, including astronaut training facilities, Mission Control, and the actual Apollo and Mercury launch vehicles. *
Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglint ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
- Canada's first and largest Science Centre


Oceania

*
Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...
– The Powerhouse Museum is a large museum, essentially of popular culture. It has displays on the history of fashion and transport, decorative arts, music, and space exploration exhibits. It also partly plays on a sci-tech theme, with interactive hands-on and discovery displays of technology, design and industry There is usually a special exhibition on as well. There are in-depth displays for all ages, but also displays especially created for young children to discover and play. *
Questacon Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre is an interactive science communication facility in Canberra, Australia. It is a museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits relating to Science, technology and society, science and ...
– an interactive museum of science with exhibits illustrating scientific ideas from the principles of physics to the motion of an earthquake. Great for kids and excellent science books can be picked up here. Allow at least half a day.


South America

* Alcântara in Northeast Brazil, is the rocket launch site for the Brazilian Space Agency, and hosts a museum on the site *
Kourou Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
in
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
hosts the Guyana Space Centre, the primary rocket launch site for the European Space Agency. * Gold Museum in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
* The Archeology Museum in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
* Casa Marqués de San Jorge in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...


Laboratories


Europe

Many European countries participate on the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which has his laboratories including the famous Large Hadron Collider on the French/Swiss border. Plus the bigger European countries like France, Germany, Italy and UK operate national laboratories. Most laboratories have open days for public visits. *
Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA ( French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and securit ...
– The CEA has 5 divisions: nuclear energy, technological research, life sciences, sciences of matter and military applications. It has one of the top 100 supercomputers in the world, the Tera-100. ** CEA Saclay – The biggest research center of the CEA hosts nuclear research reactors. *
CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
– the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest experiment and most complex scientific accelerator. Founded in 1954, the CERN laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. The weak force got discovered here in 1973 and in 1983 subsequently the W and Z bosons. In 1995 it created the first Anti-Hydrogen atoms of which the ASACUSA experiment can since 2014 produce a beam of. In 2012 the ATLAS and CMS experiment announced the discovery of a boson with 125 GeV, whose properties got confirmed to be the long-sought Higgs boson. **
Microcosm Microcosm or macrocosm, also spelled mikrokosmos or makrokosmos, may refer to: Philosophy * Microcosm–macrocosm analogy, the view according to which there is a structural similarity between the human being and the cosmos Music * Macrocosm (alb ...
– In front of the entrance of the CERN laboratory there is a permanent exposition retracing its history. ** CERN Guided Tours – Both as individual or as group it is possible from time to time to visit the experiments. * DESY (Hamburg) * FAIR * Gran Sasso * National Physical Laboratory – the birthplace of atomic timekeeping. In the 1950s, Louis Essen and John Parry constructed the atomic clock, Caesium Mk. 1. This new clock kept time more accurately. It paved the way for redefining the second in 1967, based on the fundamental properties of CS atoms, rather than the quite irregular Earth rotation. The facilities in Teddington are among the world's most extensive and sophisticated for measurement science. On 20 May 2014, NPL Open House will give people the chance to explore much of the science that goes on at NPL and the facilities that are used to do it
NPL Open House 2014
While children are allowed, the exhibits are aimed for adults, and children must be kept under adult supervision at all times. *
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It began as the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory, merged with the Atlas ...
– a national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. It is a multidisciplinary centre for research both in physical and life sciences. It had in 1957 a 50 MeV proton linear accelerator. RAL hosts ISIS, a spallation neutron source and the Central Laser Facility. RAL organises a monthly public scientific lecture: Talking Science.


North America


DOE Laboratories

In the
United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
overseen by the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
(DOE) the Office of science operates ten national laboratories. In total there are 17 national laboratories funded by the DOE. Most of the sites hold open houses where the public can come in for free and see how American tax dollars are invested in research. This used to include nuclear facilities, but those have been restricted since 9/11. *
Ames Laboratory Ames National Laboratory, formerly Ames Laboratory, is a United States Department of Energy United States Department of Energy national laboratories, national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, and affiliated with Iowa State University. It is a t ...
– conducts research into various areas, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration. The
Ames Project The Ames Project was a research and development project that was part of the larger Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs during World War II. It was founded by Frank Spedding from Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa as an offshoot of ...
purpose was to produce high purity uranium for the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
. Its most notable faculty member
Dan Shechtman Dan Shechtman ( he, דן שכטמן; born January 24, 1941)Dan Shechtman
. (PDF). Retri ...
won the 2011 Chemistry Nobel prize. Individual visits and group tours can be arranged through the public affairs office. *
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
– founded in 1946 to carry out Enrico Fermi's work on nuclear reactors as part of the Manhattan Project. Today Argonne is a science and engineering research center. Argonne welcomes visitors age 16 or older to take guided tours of the scientific and engineering facilities and grounds. Tours last about two and a half hours and are by reservation only. *
Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...
– a multipurpose research institution funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Located on the center of Long Island, New York, Brookhaven Lab operates large-scale facilities for studies in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and applied science. It is the home of the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC ) is the first and one of only two operating heavy-ion colliders, and the only spin-polarized proton collider ever built. Located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York, and used by an ...
, which first observed/created the Quark-Gluon-Plasma. Brookhaven scientists won 7 Nobel prizes including the
Ribosome Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...
discovery (2009). The lab is open to the public on Sundays during the summer for tours and special programs. *
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operat ...
– a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Hence many components of the Large Hadron Collider got engineered and tested here. The Top quark was discovered in 1995 by both the CDF and DØ experiments of the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab. The 2008 Nobel prize was given for the prediction of the third generation of quarks (Bottom and Top quarks). Fermilab visitors are allowed to visit two buildings on their own: the first and ground floor of Wilson Hall and the Lederman Science Center, Groups of six or more must book a visit by calling the center. *
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States Department of Energy National Labs, United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, t ...
– founded in 1931 by Ernest Orlando Lawrence. 13 Nobel prizes have been awarded to LBNL scientists, the most recent one (2011) for the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. It started as a particle physics laboratory, became involved for the study of nuclear matter and discovered 16 chemical elements. It is today a multi-program research site. Visitors need special clearance or may take advantage of the open days. The site on top of the hill nicely overlooks the San Francisco Bay. *
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...
– a multiprogram science and energy laboratory, with scientific and technical capabilities spanning from basic to applied research. ORNL is famous to host the Titan supercomputer. The Spallation Neutron Source is an accelerator-based neutron source facility that provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. Oak Ridge National Laboratory hosts thousands of visitors every year. It is very important, if you are not a DOE or DOE contractor employee, to arrange your visit to ORNL ahead of time. *
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the United States Department of Energy national laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington. O ...
– has many research projects for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Nuclear Security Administration. All PNNL visitors, regardless of nationality, will need to have visitor badges to go past the Lobby. *
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known ...
– researches plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. PPPL is located on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus. The free tours are led by engineers and physicists who can answer questions about magnetic fusion. In order to visit email to request a tour and give PPPL two weekdays when you would like to visit and some background on your group, including where your group is from, how many people are in your group, the age-range and the educational background of your group. *
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford Univers ...
– does experimental and theoretical research in elementary particle physics using electron beams and a broad program of research in atomic and solid-state physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine using synchrotron radiation. It discovered the charm quark, the quark structure inside the protons and neutrons and the tau lepton (3 Nobel prizes). At this time, all public and educational tours of the laboratory have been suspended. SLAC hopes to have them back and asks to check their website periodically for updates. *
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a US National Laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Its stated mission is "to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities and ...
– the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, which is 1400m in length and accelerates electrons up to 6 GeV. The most powerful free-electron laser in the world has an output of over 14 kilowatts. The lab has an open house once a year that includes a tour of the accelerator tunnel and the free electron laser. No registration of visitors is required during the open house. The open house tours involve extended periods of walking, and many tour stops include stairs. Also, much of the event is outdoors.


Other Laboratories

*
Biosphere 2 Biosphere 2 is an American Earth system science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona. Its mission is to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching, and lifelong learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the univers ...
– designed as an artificially closed complete ecology, and was the setting for research on human interaction with natural systems. The site is now owned and maintained by the University of Arizona, which conducts tours for the public. Beware that the scientific credentials of the initial project phase are quite unclear as it started as theatre group. For example, no input was taken from the Antarctic research stations, where researchers experienced extreme confinement.


Observatories


Europe

* ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre – is an astronomy centre for the public located at the site of
ESO The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...
Headquarters in Garching near Munich. * European Space Agency's Columbus Control Centre – used to control the Columbus research laboratory of the International Space Station, as well as a ground control centre for the Galileo satellite navigation system. It is located at a large research facility of the German Aerospace Centre. (DLR). * Stjerneborg observatory on Hven Island, Sweden - Tycho Brahe's observatory. * University Observatory Vienna – The Institute of Astronomy is part of the University of Vienna, located inside a fabulous historic building. The building and the Sternwartepark were closed for visitors up until recently. The park contains many rare trees. It has a mini observatory on the roof. Guided tours are available.


North America

* Mt Graham International Observatory – Operated by the University of Arizona and situated in the Pinaleño Mountains west of Safford, this observatory offers periodic tours for the public. Reservations required, preferably two or more weeks in advance. Tours depart from the Discovery Park Campus in Safford. *
Kitt Peak National Observatory The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomy, astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With ...
– Operates several astronomical telescopes plus a large solar telescope. Several guided tours are available, as well as a nightly observation program (reservations required). *
McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facil ...
*
Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is an American astronomy, astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO); it is their largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, Mass ...
– Call ahead for tour information. *
Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...
– Among other historical achievements, this is the observatory where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, and you can still see the telescope he used to do it. * NRAO Very Large Array – Huge, iconic radio telescope array featured in numerous films and TV shows, which still performs cutting edge observations. Self-guided tour allows you to walk around the base of one of the dishes and see into the maintenance facility. Occasional guided tours (see website) give you a closer look. *
Green Bank Observatory The Green Bank Observatory (previously National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank) is an astronomical observatory located in the National Radio Quiet Zone in Green Bank, West Virginia, U.S. It is the operator of the Robert C. Byrd Green Ba ...
– Tucked away in the beautiful West Virginia Mountains, in the middle of the
National Radio Quiet Zone The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) is a large area of land in the United States designated as a radio quiet zone, in which radio transmissions are restricted by law to facilitate scientific research and the gathering of military intelligence. ...
, the
Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia, US is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope, surpassing the Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope in Germany. The Green Bank site was part of the National Radi ...
is the largest fully steerable single dish radio telescope in the world.


South America

While the headquarters of the
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...
are in Garching near
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany the observatories are located in northern
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. *
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...
**
La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomy, astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The obse ...
,
Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...
,
Coquimbo Region The Coquimbo Region ( es, Región de Coquimbo, ) is one of Chile's 16 regions (first order administrative divisions). It is bordered by Atacama to the north, Valparaíso to the south, Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, Chile. **
Paranal Observatory Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on Cerro Paranal at altitude, south of Antofagasta. By total light-collecting area, it ...
,
Cerro Paranal Cerro Paranal is a mountain in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and is the home of the Paranal Observatory. Prior to the construction of the observatory, the summit was a horizontal control point with an elevation of ; now it is above sea ...
, Chile. **
Atacama Large Millimeter Array The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...
/submillimeter Array, Llano de Chajnantor, Chile.


Africa


South Africa

*
Southern African Large Telescope The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is a 10-metre class optical telescope designed mainly for spectroscopy. It consists of 91 hexagonal mirror segments each with a 1-metre inscribed diameter, resulting in a total hexagonal mirror of 11.1 ...
– The SALT telescope is largest single optical ''telescope'' in the southern hemisphere and among the largest in the world. *
KAT-7 KAT-7 is a radio telescope situated in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. Part of the Karoo Array Telescope project, it is the precursor engineering test bed to the larger MeerKAT telescope, but it has become a ...
,
MeerKAT MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...
, PAPER, and SKA Africa – The SKA Telescope is the most powerful telescope ever conceived. Its precursor, MeerKAT, is already the most powerful telescope every built. Most of it is to be built in Africa under the auspices of SKA Africa. The African precursor, MeerKAT, is already the most powerful radio telescope every built. The core of the telescope is located near Carnarvon, on the Northern Cape, with more dishes located in
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
,
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
and
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. *
South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...
– The national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. The Observatory has a fascinating history dating back to 1820, which is when our main building was constructed, making it one of the oldest permanent structures in Cape Town. Owing to light and air pollution in the city, most of the actual observing happens in Sutherland in the Northern Cape, about 380 km from Cape Town. Some of the telescopes in Cape Town are still used for outreach and public events.


Namibia

* H.E.S.S. Telescope – One of the leading observatories studying ''very high energy'' (VHE) gamma-ray astrophysics.


Universities

The most prestigious universities generally attract excellent scientists and have fine science programs. University campuses are usually open to the public, though permission from guards is sometimes required, and there may be some café or cafeteria or mensa or restaurant or even a university shop on site. Universities usually offer public lectures about ongoing research. Otherwise, their seminars and buildings are reserved for the students and the working faculty including post-doctoral researchers or professors. On weekends or holidays, many universities require special permits to enter. Universities compete on a worldwide basis; hence, they are not ordered by geographical position or alphabetized.


Other

* Boltzmann's grave – The Boltzmann equation was originally formulated by Ludwig Boltzmann between 1872 and 1875. It relates the entropy S of an ideal gas to the quantity W, which is the number of microstates corresponding to a given macrostate. In the ideal gas limit it exactly corresponds to the proper thermodynamic entropy. * Schwinger's grave – The first order correction to the fine structure constant (alpha) is engraved on Julian Schwinger's headstone at
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
. * Schrödinger's grave – The Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation that describes how the quantum state of some physical system evolves with time. It was formulated in late 1925. It is inscribed above his name on his grave site. * Hofmeyr Skull, The Hofmeyr Skull is a specimen of a 36,000-year-old skull found in the 1950s near
Hofmeyr Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population ...
, South Africa. The samples age supports the so-called "Out of Africa" theory that modern humans evolved from Africa.supports the out of Africa-theory
/ref> ** Groote Schuur Hospital, On 3 December 1967, 53-year-old Lewis Washkansky received the first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The procedure was performed by
Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...
.


See also

*
Amateur astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...
*
Archaeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...
*
Birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...
*
Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
*
Geotourism Geotourism is tourism associated with geological attractions and destinations.Dowling, R. & Newsome, D. (Eds.)(2006) ''Geotourism'' ; Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Geotourism deals with the abiotic natural and built environments.Sadry ...
*
Cultural landscape Cultural landscape is a term used in the fields of geography, ecology, and heritage studies, to describe a symbiosis of human activity and environment. As defined by the World Heritage Committee, it is the "cultural properties hatrepresent the co ...
*
Industrial tourism Industrial tourism is tourism in which the desired destination includes industrial sites peculiar to a particular location. The concept is not new, as it includes wine tours in France, visits to cheesemakers in the Netherlands, Jack Daniel's disti ...
*
List of astronomical observatories This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
*
List of science museums Below is the list of science museums all over the world. See Science museum for definitions. Europe Austria * Ars Electronica Center, Linz * Haus der Musik (House of Music), Vienna * Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Natural History Museum), Vienna ...
*
Museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
* Northern lights * Nuclear tourism *
Paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
*
Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
*
Science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
* Science tourism (simple wiki) *
Solar eclipses A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
*
Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
*
Steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
*
Volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
* Urbex *
Wildlife observation Wildlife observation is the practice of noting the occurrence or abundance of animal species at a specific location and time, either for research purposes or recreation. Common examples of this type of activity are bird watching and whale watching ...


References

* Content in this article was copied fro
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External links


5 Science destinations
(OpenMinds; 2017)

(Inverse; 2017) {{Space tourism American inventions Russian inventions * Types of tourism