CERN ‘Lego’ of convention for Scavenger Hunt
By Don Ferguson on Monday, December 23, 2013
Science might be the building blocks of life as we know it, but sometimes even those the forefront of the field like to let their hair down in the name of fun –especially when it comes to Lego, the real building blocks of life.
Just in time for Christmas, those crazy cats at the Geneva based Cern Computing Centre, spent many an hour arranging one of the most elaborate Lego figurine based scavenger hunts the world has ever seen and, more importantly, can take part in.
In preparation for the arrival of the equally geeky Google Street View team, the IT specialists put down their keyboards and mice and set about scattering more than twenty minifigures across the miles of flooring, servers and racks. What followed was the extensive visual mapping of the interiors of the computer room, as the world’s largest indoor Google Street View photoshoot got underway – laying down the digital gauntlet to an eager brand of enthusiastic treasure hunters, who are currently flocking in their thousands to take part.
What’s more, the lads and lasses at CERN have said they are going to be dolling out prizes to not one, but two lucky winners who can take their pick from the Cern Gift Guide.
What this shows is that aside from hunting for the ever elusive ‘God Particle’, the centres’ scientific endeavour extends to bolstering their current crop of scientists with some budding up and comers – hence the desire to “make science fun”. Although in recent years they have utilised their greatest asset to fantastic effect – namely floppy haired racy Northerner (and Physicist) Brian Cox – the recent partnership with Lego and Google really shows a wit when it comes to marketing their wares, not ordinarily associated with the world of academic research.
The scavenger hunt is open until 31 January 2014 – so if you fancy being in with a chance to win, check out the rules and regulations below before emailing screenshots to [email protected].
How to take part…
Find at least three LEGO® figurines hidden around the CERN Computing Centre using Google Street View.
Take screencaps of the figurines and e-mail the pictures to [email protected].
There will be TWO winners: one from CERN and one from the general public.
The competition is open until 31 January.
The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will be announced in the CERN Bulletin.
Helpful hints…
Try looking on top of racks and servers; these figurines won’t be hanging from the air!
There are over 20 LEGO® figurines spread across both floors of the Computing Centre.
If you think you’ve looked everywhere, try the next floor.
