More than 3,000 upper secondary school students from across Italy are taking part in the International Physics Masterclasses, which will begin tomorrow, 11 February 2026, and which for twenty years have accompanied thousands of students worldwide on a journey to discover the infinitely small and experimental research in various fields, from particle and astroparticle physics to medical applications.
The International Masterclasses, launched in 2005 and coordinated in Italy by the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and organised in collaboration with universities, will take place between February and March with a programme that this year includes more than 76 events hosted at universities and laboratories in 23 Italian cities. Students, participating simultaneously with their peers in numerous other countries, will have the opportunity to understand how research in particle physics works by directly analysing data from some of the most important experiments at CERN in Geneva (Switzerland) and at KEK in Tsukuba (Japan). They will be able to explore the secrets of astroparticles thanks to data from the Pierre Auger Observatory (Argentina), and discover how research in physics can contribute to the development of medical applications. In addition, this year Italy is once again participating in the international masterclass dedicated to MINERvA, an experiment on the study of neutrinos installed at Fermilab in Chicago, United States.
From tomorrow, therefore, the busy Masterclass calendar begins: it starts with a day dedicated to medical physics in Salerno and Pavia, and particle physics in Rome and Cosenza, and in Cagliari where the day will be dedicated to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which falls precisely on 11 February. In the following days it will be the turn of Messina, Milan and Naples, with meetings dedicated to astroparticles, before continuing the following week with the Masterclasses scheduled in Bari, Catania, Ferrara, Florence, Frascati, Milan, Perugia and Trieste. The calendar will continue until the end of March with numerous other events distributed throughout the national territory.
During the masterclasses dedicated to CERN experiments, each venue organises one or more days of lectures and seminars on the fundamental themes of particle physics, followed by computer-based exercises. In these activities students analyse data from the LHC particle accelerator experiments (ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb) in order to retrace, through the exercises, some of the most important discoveries of modern physics, such as that of the Higgs boson, which occurred in 2012, or the W and Z bosons, which earned Carlo Rubbia the Nobel Prize in 1984. During the exercises, participants also have the opportunity to learn about other fundamental particles and explore their characteristics and properties.
In addition to data from CERN experiments, some Masterclasses are dedicated to the following experiments: BELLE II at the SuperKEKB accelerator and PARTICLE THERAPY in collaboration with CNAO (National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy) to introduce students to the medical applications of particle physics. Other days are instead dedicated to the Auger experiment, which studies astroparticles from Argentina, and to the FERMI satellite for the study of high-energy gamma rays. In addition, there is an international Masterclass on the MINERvA experiment at Fermilab in Chicago, dedicated to neutrino research, while another area of research concerns the study of dark matter with the DARKSIDE experiment. This year, for the first time, there will also be additional days dedicated to the KM3NeT experiment, the network of underwater telescopes (ARCA off Portopalo di Capo Passero, Italy, and ORCA off Toulon, France) for the study of neutrinos from astrophysical sources.
At the end of each day, just as in a real international research collaboration, a videoconference connection is scheduled between the young participants in the Masterclasses around the world and the laboratory that produced the data analysed during the exercises, in order to discuss the results obtained together.
The International Masterclasses, launched in 2005, are organised worldwide by IPPOG (International Particle Physics Outreach Group) and, in Italy, by INFN. Each year the initiative involves around 60 countries, with the participation of some of the most prestigious research institutes and universities in the world, and reaches more than 13,000 upper secondary school students. For the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, this year the participating sites are Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Cosenza, Ferrara, Florence, Genoa, Lecce, Milan, Milan-Bicocca, Naples, Padua, Parma, Pavia, Perugia, Pisa, Rome I, Rome II, Rome III, Salerno, Trento, Trieste, Turin, Udine, in addition to the National Laboratories of Frascati (INFN – LNF) and the National Laboratories of Gran Sasso (INFN – LNGS).
CALENDAR OF MASTERCLASSES IN ITALY 2026:
AQUILA (13/03/2026)
Where: Computational Physics Laboratory, Via Vetoio, Coppito – 67100 L’Aquila
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/50420/
BARI (19/02/2026, 25/02/2026, 18/03/2026, 23/03/2026, 31/03/2026)
Where: University of Bari, Department of Physics – Via Giovanni Amendola 173, 70126, Bari
Web page: https://www.ba.infn.it/it/per-le-scuole/international-master-classes/
BOLOGNA (23/03/2026, 24/03/2026, 25/03/2026, 26/03/2026, 27/03/2026)
Where: Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna – Via Zamboni 31, Bologna
Web page: https://www.bo.infn.it/MasterClass/
CAGLIARI (11/02/2026, 18/02/2026, 20/02/2026, 17/03/2026)
Where: University of Cagliari, Department of Physics – Strada Provinciale Monserrato-Sestu km 0.7, 09042, Monserrato (Cagliari)
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49314/
CATANIA (18/02/2026, 23/02/2026, 13/03/2026, 17/03/2026, 25/03/2026)
Where: University of Catania, Department of Physics and Astronomy “E. Majorana” – Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123, Catania
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49988/
COSENZA (11/02/2026, 27/03/2026)
Where: University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, 87036, Rende (CS)
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49303/
FERRARA (19/02/2026)
Where: University of Ferrara (Block F) – Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44121, Ferrara
Web page: https://orientamento-fisica.unife.it/scuole/scuole-secondarie/i-nostri-corsi/international-masterclass
FLORENCE (19/02/2026, 20/02/2026, 24/02/2026)
Where: University of Florence, Department of Physics and Astronomy – Via Sansone 1, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence
Web page: https://masterclass.fi.infn.it
FRASCATI (19/02/2026)
Where: INFN National Laboratories of Frascati – Via Enrico Fermi 54, 00044, Frascati, Rome
Web page: https://comedu.lnf.infn.it/ippog-2026/
GENOA (25/02/2026, 11/03/2026, 20/03/2026, 23/03/2026, 25/03/2026)
Where: University of Genoa, Department of Physics – Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genoa
Web page: https://www.difi.unige.it/it/terza-missione/international-masterclasses
LECCE (06/03/2026)
Where: University of Salento, Department of Mathematics and Physics “Ennio De Giorgi” (Aula Magna) – Via per Arnesano, 73100, Lecce
Web page: https://web.le.infn.it/masterclasses/
MESSINA (13/02/2026)
Where: University of Messina – Piazza Pugliatti 1, 98122, Messina
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49988/
MILAN (13/02/2026, 18/02/2026, 16/03/2026, 27/03/2026)
Where: University of Milan, Department of Physics – Via G. Celoria 16, 20133, Milan
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49830/
MILAN-BICOCCA (03/02/2026, 26/02/2026)
Where: University of Milan Bicocca, Building U4 – Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milan; Building U9 – Viale dell’Innovazione 10, 20126, Milan
Web page: http://masterclass.mib.infn.it
NAPLES (13/02/2026, 27/02/2026, 25/03/2026)
Where: University of Naples Federico II, Department of Physics “Ettore Pancini” and Department of Biology, Monte Sant’Angelo University Complex (Building 6) – Via Cinthia 21, 80126, Naples
Web page: https://www.na.infn.it/divulgazione/masterclass
PADUA (16/03/2026, 17/03/2026, 18/03/2026)
Where: Paolotti Complex, University of Padua, Ricci-Curbastro Complex (LabP140 and LabP036) – Via Belzoni 7, 35121, Padua
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/48874/overview
PARMA (18/03/2026)
Where: University of Parma (University Campus), Congress Hall – Via Università 12, 43121, Parma
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/50423/
PAVIA (11/02/2026, 25/02/2026, 27/02/2026)
Where: University of Pavia, Department of Physics “A. Volta” – Via Bassi 6, 27100, Pavia
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49900/
PERUGIA (19/02/2026, 27/02/2026, 18/03/2026)
Where: University of Perugia, Department of Physics and Geology – Via Alessandro Pascoli, 06123, Perugia
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/e/masterclass-pg-2026
PISA (25/02/2026, 23/03/2026, 25/03/2026, 27/03/2026)
Where: INFN Pisa Section – Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127, Pisa
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49852/
ROME Sapienza (11/02/2026, 24/02/2026)
Where: Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Physics – Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185, Rome
Web pages: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49551/overview
ROME Tor Vergata (11/02/2026, 06/03/2026, 18/03/2026)
Where: University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Physics – Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/category/2162/
ROME Tre (12/03/2026, 25/03/2026)
Where: Roma Tre University – Via Ostiense 133, 00154, Rome
Web page: https://matematicafisica.uniroma3.it/terza-missione/per-la-scuola/masterclass/
SALERNO (11/02/2026, 18/02/2026, 23/03/2026)
Where: University of Salerno, Department of Physics “E.R. Caianiello” (Computational Physics Laboratories) – Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084, Fisciano (SA)
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49942/
TURIN (20/02/2026, 13/03/2026, 17/03/2026, 18/03/2026)
Where: University of Turin, Department of Physics – Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125, Turin
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/49452/
TRENTO (27/02/2026)
Where: University of Trento, Department of Engineering and Science – Via Sommarive 5, 38123, Povo, Trento
Web page: https://agenda.infn.it/event/43813/overview
TRIESTE (19/02/2026, 03/03/2026, 04/03/2026, 18/03/2026)
Where: University of Trieste, Department of Physics – Via Valerio 2, 34127, Trieste; International Centre for Theoretical Physics – Strada Costiera 11, 34151, Trieste
Web page: https://www.ts.infn.it/pub/eventi-e-divulgazione/scuole/masterclass
UDINE (25/02/2026)
Where: University of Udine, Department of Mathematical, Computer and Physical Sciences – Via delle Scienze 206, 33100, Udine
Web page: https://www.ts.infn.it/pub/eventi-e-divulgazione/scuole/masterclass
Information on the Masterclasses:
Italian Masterclasses: https://masterclass.infn.it/
International Masterclasses: https://ippog.org/imc-international-masterclasses
