What?
Come and discover 'Sylvia's Lab', an intriguing place at the Ispra site of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) which is the European Commissions' in-house Science Service.
At Sylvia's Lab we link the research of the JRC to the story told at the EU pavilion during EXPO Milano 2015. You will be able to discover future scenarios on food production and consumption; investigate topics like soil, agriculture and the safety of materials that come in contact with food and immerse yourself in innovative projects. You will also learn how our work can benefit future generations, what we should do to preserve our precious planet and how you can help in doing so.
Where?
Sylvia's Lab is located at the Ispra site of the JRC, in a picturesque town on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, approximately 60 kilometres from Expo Milano 2015.
The JRC in Ispra covers almost 170 hectares of land, hosts numerous state-of-the-art laboratories and has a history dating back more than 60 years. The closest airport is Milano Malpensa from where you can reach the JRC by car in about 30 minutes.
When?
You can sign up to visit the Sylvia's Lab and the JRC Visitors' Centre during the 6 months of EXPO, from May to October, following registration via our website.
School visits are possible on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays (mornings) during May, June, September and October.
If you do not find a suitable date or would like to visits during July or August, please contact us to see if we can accommodate your request.
From the end of May onwards, we welcome individuals, families or small groups on Wednesday afternoons.
If you would like to visit us with a group of more than 10 people, please contact us.
How?
Visits are free of charge and will last approximately 3 hours. They include a bus tour of the JRC Ispra site as well as the visit to the JRC Visitors' Centre and Sylvia's Lab.
Schools should arrive to the JRC Ispra with their own bus, which will also be used for the entire visit. Additional information is available here for available days and times, please check the calendar in the registration page.
Individual visitors/small groups can take a bus from Milano Centrale metro station, at 13:00, or outside the JRC Ispra site, at 14:00; the bus will be also used for the visit and take visitors back to Milano Centrale, should they require. The bus is free of charge and you will need to bring your confirmation of registration.
Additional information is available here; register your visit through this link.
Contact us if you have questions or need additional information!
Would you like to visit the JRC, the Visitors' Centre and Sylvia's lab, but the proposed options are dates don't suit you? Please contact us to verify if it might be able to organise additional visits.
Please remember that registration is compulsory for all visits and places are limited.
To book your visit, you first will need to create a personal account in the on-line European commission's system (ECAS) in order to obtain an account. The system will guide you through this procedure (a step-by-step guide is also available in the registration page).
Follow the link to the Visits registration page.
To book your spot, fill in the minimum required information. You will need to provide details of all the people who will participate in the visit, but this can be done at a later stage.
If you would like to register your school, please make sure you fulfil the following requirements:
Minimum age of the visitors is 8 years old;
A group can consist of a maximum 50 participants;
All participants will need to be registered (this can be done at a later stage) providing personal data and, for over 16 years old, ID details;
Each school can register a maximum of 2 groups.
You will be able to pick an available date (in green) on the calendar in May, June, September and October. All available places are marked in green.
If your preferred slot is already taken, please check at a later stage as places might become available again.
After registration, we will check that your book meets the minimal requirements after which you will receive a confirmation message, together with detailed and practical information on your visit. Please note: your registration is not confirmed until you have received this message.
Registration for individual visitors, families or small groups (max. 10 people) - not schools:
Follow the link to the Visits registration page.
To book your visit, you must provide all the information required for every participant to the visit (including children). All data must be entered at this stage only: registration is valid only if you have provided all the required information.
Please make sure you fulfil the following requirements:
Minimum age of the visitors is 3 year old; all visitors under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult;
Anybody with an ECAS account can register up to a max. 9 other participants, according to the available places;
All participants (including children) will need to be registered, providing personal data and, for over 16, ID details;
If you come from a country outside the EU, you will need to send us by e-mail a copy of your passport in order to be able to complete the registration process.
You will be able to pick a date on the calendar from end May to end October. New available dates will be added during these months, according to the requests received: check on the calendar to check availability.
All available places are marked in blue. If your preferred date is already taken, please check at a later stage as places might become available again.
After registration, we will check that your book meets the minimal requirements after which you will receive a confirmation message, together with detailed and practical information on your visit. Please note: your registration is not confirmed until you have received this message.
Questions?
For questions concerning the school visits, you can contact us on JRC-STUDENT-VISITS@ec.europa.eu.
For questions concerning visits for individuals or group, you can contact us on JRC-ISPRA-VISITS@ec.europa.eu.
To register your school or to book visits for individuals