PALAIS DE LA DECOUVERTE

I’ve been living in Paris since 2008, but for some inexplicable reason, I’ve never visited Palais de la Decouverte which is housed in the magnificent Grand Palais (on the Franklin Roosevelt side). So yesterday I decided to take Alexander and believe me when I say this is a perfect place for your curious children!

The Palais de la Decouverte (Palace of Discovery) is a science museum packed with interactive experiments and displays with themes of acoustics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, mathematics and physics.

Some of the experiments involve living creatures, whether that is you, your children or an animal (don’t worry – nobody gets hurt).

I loved the fact that everything can be understood by everyone thanks to a real pedagogical approach, combined with experiments lead by professionals, manipulations and videos. Although most information is in French, there are plenty of buttons and levers to press and pull to keep little (and not so little) hands busy.

Opening times: From Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 am to 6.00 pm and on Sunday and public holidays 10.00 am to 7.00 pm

Address: Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 75008 Paris, France

More info on www.palais-decouverte.fr

He quickly had to finish his sandwich avec jambon before going inside Palais Decouverte!

What is symmetry? How can you recognise symmetry in an object? Why should we study it?

Multimedia, discovery through touch, objects to be handled, musical book and more. This interactive exhibition explores the idea of symmetry, making connections between the worlds of mathematics, the arts and other scientific disciplines.

Ok, a bit too complicated for my nearly 5 year old Alexander but he was fasinated by Geoscienses!

Through interactive objects and multimedia, this new permanent exhibition allows you to observe and understand the geological phenomena of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
It also explains the tools and methods used to study, monitor and adapt to them.

Interactive animated models, medical devices, videos, quiz games on micro computers as well as more traditional display panels, are all available to help visitors learn and improve their knowledge.

Ready for the rat experiment!

The hightlight of the day, the rats experiment! This area is developing current knowledge of the learning process.
We now know that learning is something which happens in nearly all animal species, to varying degrees. But what aptitude do they have for this? And what do animals learn?

Placed in a small box under a microscope, “pavement” ants, Lasius niger, go about their business under the watchful eyes of the visitors. You can observe the queen and the workers of the colony, their antenna contact, their trophallactic exchanges (sharing food) and the great care they take of the eggs and the larva.

From human anatomy to molecular genetics, all the grand themes of human biology are presented in this permanent exhibition. Alexander is sat listening t his own heartbeat hear and eventhough this part is way too complicated for him, he seemed really interested.