EGO and Virgo are taking part in the European Researchers Night with Bright Night and PICO

The European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) in Cascina, home to the Virgo interferometer, will take part on September 25th in the European Researchers’ Night, an initiative promoted by the European Commission to promote scientific culture. EGO and Virgo will be present in various Italian cities, including Pisa, Naples and Milan, with a wide range of activities, including booths, shows and, of course, the Big Bang Machine van. The activities offered will be organised as part of the Bright Night and PICO – New Horizons projects, funded by the European Union, of which EGO is a partner.

In Pisa, in Piazza Santa Caterina, visitors will find the ‘Diving into Gravitational Waves’ stand: using virtual reality headsets, participants will be able to explore the world of gravitational waves. In addition, software developed by Daniel Canton will be presented to the public for the first time. It simulates collisions between black holes and neutron stars, which are the source of the gravitational wave signals detected by the Virgo interferometer. Also in Piazza Santa Caterina, there will be a stand dedicated to younger children, where, through interactive games, they will discover how Virgo works and how scientists manage to isolate gravitational wave signals from background noise. Furthermore, in collaboration with K-Production, children will be able to take part in the ‘Gravitational Wave Tale’: storytelling sessions dedicated to black holes and gravitational waves.

In Piazza dei Cavalieri, during the talk “Women at the frontiers of science”, Francesca Spagnuolo (EGO) will explore the value of diversity in science, drawing on the experience of global collaboration on the detection of gravitational waves through the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA project.
The event forms part of the European PICO New Horizons project as part of Bright Night.

Virgo researchers will also be taking centre stage in Florence, in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, at the National Institute of Physics’ stand, with demonstration models of the interferometer and other activities accessible to visually impaired visitors.

Also on 25 September, head to Milan for the Open Night at the National Museum of Science and Technology, featuring the show ‘Le Mappe del Cosmo’, produced and curated by EGO, scheduled for 7.45 pm and dedicated to discoveries about the Universe.
The narration by Diana Hobel and Marco Sgarbi, accompanied by illustrations by Gabriele Peddes, will take the audience on a journey to discover the lives of scientists who have changed the way we view the universe.

The Big Bang Machine van will be stopping off in Naples, in Piazza Dante, as part of S.T.R.E.E.T.S. (Science Technology Research for Ethical Engagement Translated in Society).
Just like on a science-fiction space-time vessel, young and old alike will be able to travel back in time and enjoy an immersive experience exploring the most distant phenomena in the Universe: gigantic black holes, mergers of stars denser than any imaginable matter, right back to the very first moments of the Cosmos, when the building blocks of matter were formed.

Bright Night is the project for the European Researchers’ Night, promoted by the entire research community in Tuscany with the support of the Tuscany Region, as part of Giovanisì, the regional project for youth empowerment. The 2026 edition will be dedicated to the theme of ‘caring’, understood as a responsibility towards people, communities, relationships and the environment. In a context marked by profound social, environmental and technological transformations, research is called upon to make a tangible contribution to collective well-being by promoting knowledge that is thoughtful, ethical and accessible. Tuscan towns and cities will come alive with workshops, experiments, demonstrations, talks, exhibitions, performances and guided tours of museums and laboratories. Researchers will meet local residents to talk about their work and show how research helps tackle the major challenges of our time on a daily basis.

The PICO - New Horizons project, funded by the Horizon Europe Programme, Grant Agreement No. 101305391, building on the success of the previous PICO project, aims to connect cutting-edge physics with society through public engagement and outreach activities. EGO, already a partner in PICO, continues its commitment alongside scientific institutions from ten European countries in this project, which connects society to innovations in physics through concrete global challenges such as climate change, extreme natural events, the green transition, sustainable construction and eco-sustainable solutions.

Save the date, Friday Semptember 25th!