Skip to main content

Tours

Explorers Welcome.

How do super tornadoes form? Or when black holes collide? Our researchers broaden our understanding of the world. And we invite you to join them.

Our free and informative tours are open to teachers, students, community leaders and anyone else with an interest in science and technological innovation. They focus on our visualizations now that Blue Waters has been decommissioned.

A 3D Visualization Demonstration

For more than 30 years, visual artists at NCSA have been creating stunning videos that help viewers better understand everything from DNA to wonders of the universe unfolding in galaxies far beyond our own. During this exciting tour, you’ll see some of these award-winning visualizations, fascinating 3D animations that help your imagination take flight.

Virtual Machine Room Tour

In operation from 2012–2022, NCSA’s  Blue Waters was once one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. In fact, the National Petascale Computing Facility (NPCF) was built just to house it.

While we no longer give formal tours of that building, you can take a Virtual machine room tour recorded by Champaign County Visitor’s Bureau in 2016.

Explore the rest of the NCSA website to learn more about NCSA and all the different things we do, including all the different equipment we have on our machine room floor.

Back to top