What is the world made of?

For thousands of years, people have been asking themselves: what building blocks is the world made of? The exhibition “Particle Zoo” presents the answers of modern particle physics and goes on the trail of Higgs, quarks and photons.

Which particle fits you best?

In particle physics, there are lightweights, stage hogs and chatterboxes. Our “Particl-o-matic” shows which particle fits you best!

Open Particl-o-matic

We are seeking answers and finding questions

Even if particle physics in the last 150 years has found incredible answers, many exciting questions remain: Why are there so many elementary particles? Are there any others? Can our current worldview even be correct? The “Particle Zoo” shows how researchers at DESY look ever more deeply into matter and the cosmos. Come along on the journey!

A joint project

The “Particle Zoo” exhibition is a joint project of the DESY research centre and Universum® Bremen.
It took place in Bremen from 27 September 2013 until 30 June 2014.

DESY is one of the world’s leading particle accelerator centres. Using DESY’s large-scale facilities, researchers explore the microcosm in all its diversity—from the interplay of the smallest elementary particles on to the behaviour of novel nanomaterials and to the vitally important processes occurring between biomolecules.

At Universum® Bremen, science becomes an adventure. The Science Center offers numerous interactive exhibits on the subjects of mankind, earth and the cosmos. The EntdeckerPark offers more exhibits on movement and a 27-metre-high Turm der Lüfte with experiments on wind and weather. In addition, the SchauBox presents varying special exhibitions—such as the “Particle Zoo”.