A View from the Top of Wilson Hall
15th floor Public Display Areas

The observation area overlooks Fermilab's 6800 acre (2,750 hectare) site where scientists study the mysteries of matter that are held by individual particles inside the atom's nucleus. These particles, and the forces that cause them to interact, can only be "observed" with the use of extremely large machines called accelerators that drive particle beams of protons (a part of the atom) to very high energies in order to collide them with stationary targets or with moving antiprotons. Fermilab's accelerator, the Tevatron, produces the highest energy particle beams in the world.

		North. The three beam lines, buried under earthen hills, deliver protons to the experimental areas. The Master Substation, Feynman Computing Center, industrial area and buffalo herd are also visible from here. (Click on the picture for a larger view)
		East. The 6.4 kilometer circle berm of earth crowned by the stainless steel cryogenic pipeline sits atop the Main Ring and Tevatron accelerator, both located in the same tunnel six meters below the ground. DZero, one of the detectors used to discover the top quark, is in the blue building directly across the Main Ring from Wilson Hall. Wildlife native to Illinois thrives inside the Main Ring where almost 1000 acres (405 hectares) of land have been reconstructed into a tallgrass prairie. Visible on a clear day, the Chicago skyline can be seen beyond the Fermilab village on the northeast horizon.
		South. The Antiproton Source, the Linear Accelerator, the Cross Gallery and the Transfer Gallery as well as the Main Injector, nearing completion, can all be seen from here. (Click on the picture for a larger view)
		West. Aurora, North Aurora and Batavia are visible from the west window as are the Lederman Science Education Center and the Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail.

Education Displays. Photographs of many of Fermilab's outstanding and varied education programs. You are invited to explore further using an interactive kiosk.

Top Quark Discovery. The significance of the top quark discovery is explained in this two part display. There is an overview of the two experimental groups that found this sixth and final quark.

Site Model. A model of the Fermilab site shows the size of the facilities needed to probe the world within the atom. Wilson Hall, the Linac, Booster, Main Ring, Tevatron, Antiproton Source, experimental areas and the new Main Injector are clearly marked.

Barbara R. Lach Visitor Theater. Stop here in the Visitor Theater where a selection of videotapes about Fermilab may be viewed. Follow the instructions on the button box to play a program of your choice.

History Wall. Using photos and text, the exhibit takes you from the 1968 ground breaking days through the 1995 announcement of the discovery of the top quark. Significant world events are included.

Collider Detectors. In colliding beam experiments at CDF (Collider Detector at Fermilab) and Dzero, protons and antiprotons meet head-on inside large (4,000 metric ton) particle detectors. The particle produced are tracked electronically and studied by scientists who use these data to understand the basic structure of matter.

Recent Laboratory Activities. A grouping of photographs depicts the laboratory's work force along with an important founding principle: the Laboratory's Human Rights Statement.

NuMI Display. An introduction to a newly proposed Neutrino experiment that will locate its far detector in the Soudan Mine in northern Minnesota.

URA Display. Made up of the major research universities, this not for profit corporation serves as the contractor to the federal government for the operation of this scientific facility.

Tunnel Model. A full-size reproduction of the tunnel allows visitors to experience the subterranean world of high-energy physics. Stand in the tunnel and examine the two different types of magnets. Displays on the columns at each end of the tunnel model show the relationship of the different components.

Artifacts. Over 3,000 years ago, native Americans hunted on the savanna where Fermilab is now located. Implements unearthed by archeologists are on display here.

Rocks and Minerals. Rock and mineral specimens native to the Illinois area and the Fermilab site are shown.

Superconductivity. Building Fermilab's Tevatron, the world's first superconducting synchrotron accelerator, helped lay the foundation for a new industry in the United States - superconducting technology. This power-conserving technology has applications in the fields of energy, transportation, medicine, the environment and electronics.

Superconducting Magnet. An authentic Tevatron magnet. The Tevatron was the first high-energy superconducting accelerator in the world. Electricity flows through the magnet's coils without resistance. In 1989 President Bush presented the National Medal of Technology to four Fermilab scientists for their work in building the Tevatron.

Drift Chamber. These detectors were recently part of the DZero collider detector which co-discovered the Top quark. They were used to measure the trajectory of charged subatomic particles produced in proton-antiproton collisions at the center of the DZero interaction region. The path of the individual charged particles can then be calculated from these measurements using sophisticated computer programs.

CDF Silicon Vertex Detector. This 20-centimeter diameter barrel fit tightly around the Tevatron beam-pipe in Collider Run I. It has 23,000 strips etched in silicon wafers with separations of 60 microns between the strips. There are four layers of silicon and these four position measurements were used to extrapolate the particle paths inside the Tevatron vacuum beampipe. Using the tracks from the primary vertex in a given event, the SVX determined the position of a primary interaction to about 10 microns even though the Tevatron beam spot was ~40 microns in diameter. With this precision, the SVX was then used to tag particles which did not come from the primary vertex ­ providing crucial information in the discovery of the top quark. Examples on the CDF Experiment Web page

Linac Model. This model displays actual side coupled cavitites that function as a portion of our Linac Accelerator. Negative hydrogen ions are acceler-ated through these cavities to an energy of 400 MeV.

Internet Kiosk. Visitors are encouraged to click on topics to access information about a variety of subjects. This display is provided for the public to see the power of the web and be witnesses to one of high-energy physics' most significant contributions to modern technology.

Focus on Form Display. The Laboratory's unique architecture and sculpture is captured in this beautifully done photographic record. More on Fermilab's sculpture and architecture.

Coming soon: Searching for the Building Blocks of Matter. Physicists at Fermilab are searching for the smallest building blocks of matter. Currently, there are three such building blocks: quarks, leptons and bosons. This display explains how the rules for combining these particles dictate the structure of matter.

Guided Tours: Fermilab offers guided tours to high school and adult groups of ten or more by appointment on select weekdays. Reservations must be made in advance through the Education Office at (630) 840-5578, P. O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510-0500. There is no charge for a tour. Click here for more information on guided tours.