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Open Doors Day

Enthusiasm and dedication

11 Apr 2023
The 18th edition of Open Doors Day took place on a sunny weekend in early April, to the satisfaction of approximately 700 visitors. A large team of volunteers facilitated the event, each one sharing his or her "piece" of ITER.
JPO_1-04-23_1.jpg
Don't forget to look up! There is a lot to see in ITER's machine assembly hall, including far overhead.

While Open Doors Days always draw a large influx of visitors, the regular site visit program—which welcomes individuals or groups throughout the year—results in the lion's share of annual visits. Nearly 20,000 visitors passed through the ITER gates in 2022, the highest number ever recorded. The five-person visit team at ITER handled an average of 55 groups per month, helped by more than 100 trained volunteers from across the organization. Agence Iter France, part of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), hosted approximately 4,500 French schoolchildren (primary) and another 2,000 students. New since 2021, it is possible to have a virtual visit of ITER—an option selected by some 600 people last year from many far-flung places on the globe.

There are lots of ways to experience ITER! See this page for more information.

Open Door Days take place twice a year at ITER, barring events outside of our control, but they never get old. Each time, the enthusiasm of the public and the dedication of specialists from all corners of the project combine to make for a fulfilling day. Visitors leave with a better sense of ITER's scientific mission and the intricacies involved in building the world's largest magnetic confinement fusion device, while insiders have the pleasure of stepping back from their demanding day jobs to share their enthusiasm for ITER's overall mission.

In addition to staff and contractors from the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy, who volunteered their time, many other people contributed to the smooth operation of the daylong event, including those who handled registration, security, and hospitality. Julie Marcillat, from the ITER Communication, orchestrated the event.

See the gallery below for scenes from the latest Open Doors Day at ITER.

Members of the travelling science organization Les Petits Débrouillards ("The Litte Crafty Ones") regale families with visual explanations of magnetism and vacuum.
The most spectacular
Visitors have a view over the entire construction platform from the belvedere of the Visitors Centre. Eyes are immediately drawn to the massive Tokamak Complex (steel and concrete, left) and the Assembly Hall (steel, right).
No question unanswered
Displays in the Visitors Centre in English and French are tailored for visitors of all ages. Volunteers rotate throughout the day to ensure that no question goes unanswered.
The world's largest plasma
With a plasma volume of 840m³—ten times that of the largest tokamak operating today—ITER will be a unique experimental tool, capable of longer plasmas and better confinement. These students have questions about the design of the machine and the ground breaking research that will be possible on it.
Approximately 700 people take part in the Open Doors Day event on 1 April 2023—the 18th event of the sort since 2007. By group of 50, visitors are brought to the worksite for guided visits of the Cryostat Workshop and the Assembly Hall (pictured).
No matter the age, there is something for every ITER visitor! ITER plasmagicians, hands-on demonstrations in the Visitors Centre, the fascinating machinery of ITER assembly, in-depth conversations with ITER experts ...
Wow!
Push aside the plastic curtain at the end of a long corridor and .... wow! The size of the future ITER machine is suddenly apparent to all the senses.
ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi (far right) takes part in one of the early bus tours of the day ... as a visitor, not a guide!
The protective covering over the cryostat top lid almost looks like icing on a cake. This 665-tonne component will soon be removed to exterior storage to make room for other assembly activities in the Cryostat Workshop. (See the report here: https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3866.)
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