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  • Busbar installation | Navigating an obstacle course

    What is simple and commonplace in the ordinary world, like connecting an electrical device to a power source, often takes on extraordinary dimension at ITER. Wh [...]

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  • Vacuum vessel assembly | Back in the starting blocks

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  • 11th ITER Games | Good fun under the Provencal sun

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  • Manufacturing | Recent milestones in Russia

    Russia continues to deliver in-kind components to the ITER project according to procurement arrangements signed with the ITER Organization. Some recent manufact [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Open Doors Day

Having fun while discovering ITER

A public event on Saturday 13 April draws a big crowd.

Much of the time crossing the Assembly Hall is spent looking up! The bridge cranes that can carry 1,500 tonnes, the giant sector sub-assembly tools, the central solenoid stack ... (Click to view larger version...)
Much of the time crossing the Assembly Hall is spent looking up! The bridge cranes that can carry 1,500 tonnes, the giant sector sub-assembly tools, the central solenoid stack ...
It was a beautiful, summer-like day on Saturday 13 April. Perfect for a journey into ITER. Nearly 800 members of the public, were welcomed on site by an all-volunteer roster of guides, timekeepers, hosts and hostesses, plasmagicians and specialists of all kinds.

Younger people have the advantage! They get to work their way right up to the plexiglass that separates the port cell corridor from the impressive Tokamak pit. You can almost imagine the plasma whizzing around the central column. (Click to view larger version...)
Younger people have the advantage! They get to work their way right up to the plexiglass that separates the port cell corridor from the impressive Tokamak pit. You can almost imagine the plasma whizzing around the central column.
It's a regular occurance at ITER. Twice a year since 2011, in spring and autumn (with only one notable year excepted) the gates open to visitors of all ages who have been lucky enough to secure a spot. Curiousity in the region about ITER is understandably high—after all, the tallest buildings are visible to all who drive north to the French Alpes. Open Doors Days are one way to share ITER with the public; the ITER visits team also runs a program that welcomes individuals and small groups throughout the year. (Just over 25,000 people visited ITER in all last year; since 2007 the figure tops 200,000).

For those who were not able to make it this time, another Open Doors Day event is planned in November 2024.

See the gallery below for some of the scenes from the day. Or watch "Having fun while discovering ITER" on YouTube.

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