These are not only questions for physicists working at CERN. They are questions that belong to everyone. This spring and summer, they will be brought into public space in Finland through Code of the Universe, a travelling open-air exhibition that combines large-scale photography, scientific storytelling and the human curiosity behind fundamental research.

The exhibition arrives in Finland at a particularly fitting time: From 8 to 12 June 2026, Helsinki will host FCC Week 2026, the annual international conference of the Future Circular Collider community. Organised in collaboration with CERN and the local organisers from the Helsinki Institute of Physics, University of Helsinki, and LUT University, FCC Week will bring scientists, engineers, policymakers and partners together to discuss the next phase of the Future Circular Collider study, possibly leading to the next big CERN Flagship accelerator with ca. 90 km circumference. It will be the first FCC Week after the publication of the FCC Feasibility Study report and coincides with the final phase of the 2025-2026 update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. (FCC week)

While FCC Week gathers the international particle physics community in Helsinki, Code of the Universe opens the same scientific questions to the public across Finland. The exhibition forms a bridge between the expert discussions taking place inside the conference rooms and the broader curiosity shared by society: What can future accelerators reveal about matter, forces, space and time? Why do we need new instruments to study nature at the smallest scales? And how does fundamental research become part of culture, technology and everyday life?

The Finnish tour will visit four cities:

Tampere – Ratinanniemi: 5-15 May
Jyväskylä – Kirkkopuisto: 19 May-8 June
Lahti – Harbour (Lahti-Kirjaimet): 9-29 June
Helsinki – Rautatientori: 30 June-16 July

The open-air exhibition is free of charge and presented in public locations, making it easy to encounter science in the middle of everyday life: on the way to school, work, the market square or the harbour. In some locations, there will be special events, check the HIP event page for updates.

Developed in the context of CERN’s Future Circular Collider study, Code of the Universe introduces some of the deepest open questions in modern physics: the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the origin of matter, and the forces that govern the Universe. It also shows how particle accelerators work as powerful microscopes, allowing scientists to probe the structure of reality at distances far smaller than anything visible to the eye.

The visual form is central to the experience. Large-scale photographs and accessible texts translate abstract scientific ideas into images and stories. They show not only the scale and beauty of the Universe, but also the human dimension of discovery: the people, instruments, collaborations and environments behind research at the frontiers of knowledge. The exhibition is further enhanced by an augmented reality application, which allows visitors to explore additional content through selected panels.

In this sense, Code of the Universe and FCC Week are two sides of the same conversation. FCC Week focuses on the scientific, technical and strategic questions facing the international research community. Code of the Universe invites everyone to take part in the curiosity that motivates that work.

So, when the exhibition arrives in your city, spread the word and also take a moment to stop and enjoy the exhibition.

More information:
Code of the Universe Finland:https://events.hip.fi/codeoftheuniverse
Exhibition website: https://codeoftheuniverse.eu
FCC Week 2026: https://indico.cern.ch/e/fccweek2026