What place for scientific culture in France?

Closed for four years, the Palais de la Découverte could never reopen its doors. For example. Furthermore, This uncertainty goes beyond the sole question of a Parisian museum: it highlights the weaknesses of an essential but discreet cultural sector. In addition, that of scientific culture.

A question currently keeps professionals and lovers of scientific culture: will the discovery palace close? Furthermore, Reopen? Similarly, Be moved?

The Discovery Palace is a museum of scientific culture. Meanwhile, This field of activity offers mediation actions to connect society with scientific knowledge. In addition, thanks to exhibitions, workshops, conferences or other activities for children and adults. However, The Palais de la Découverte is under the main supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Furthermore, that, secondary, of higher education, just like the City of Sciences and Industry, another what place scientific culture france? new Parisian scientific culture center. Therefore, These two structures were what place scientific culture france? Furthermore, also grouped in the same administrative entity, Universcience, in 2009, to facilitate their management. In addition, The Palais de la Découverte is hosted within the Grand Palais, in the West wing.

In renovation for 4 years, he had to reopen in 2026, with a temporary exhibition and pre -opening events on June 11, 2025. Therefore, This pre -opening was canceled. Therefore. For example, against a backdrop of tension with the Ministry of Culture, but also with the director of the Grand Palais who would like to see the Palais de la Découverte to be moved.

Since then. Consequently. However, the director of Universcience, Bruno MAQUART, has been dismissed by the government, a petition of employees to save the Palais de la Découverte has been launched and several stands of support have been published, as by what place scientific culture france? new international scientific institutions, the Collège de France and the National Network of Scientific Culture (AMCSTI). Consequently, On June what place scientific culture france? Moreover, 19. In addition. In addition, the Minister of Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste was said to have favorable to the maintenance of the Palais de la Découverte within the Grand Palais, but the Ministry of Culture, the main supervision of the Palace, has still not positioned itself, still leaving an uncertainty.

For people outside this field of activity. Furthermore, the problems of the Palais de la Découverte may seem somewhat Parisian-centered or unimportant compared to other current issues. Consequently, And yet the question raised is more global than it seems.

What place scientific culture france? new

What place scientific culture france?

A symbol of the evolution of scientific culture

The Palais de la Découverte was born as part of the 1937. International Exhibition. from an idea of what place scientific culture france? new ​​the painter André Léveillé and the physicist and politician Jean Perrin.

The Popular Front in power carries the what place scientific culture france? first major cultural policies. Perrin sees in the project proposed by Léveillé a means of making science accessible to all. to promote vocations. He said about the Palais de la Découverte:

“If he revealed a single Faraday. our effort to all would be paid more than a hundredfold”.

Perrin will manage to perpetuate the institution beyond the exhibition. At that time. difficult to speak of scientific culture. mediation: it is above all a temple of science, important for scientists in the period of institutionalization of research and justification of its legitimacy.

The palace will then develop its operation to adapt to social changes. Mediation actions closer to contemporary forms appeared what place scientific culture france? new in the 1960s. in parallel with the development of the field of scientific culture.

Thus. the Palais offers traveling exhibitions in these years – reflecting the desire to go beyond the museum walls -. conferences what place scientific culture france? and cultural animation of young clubs. In the 1970s. demonstrations. conferences were gradually replaced by interactive experiences, and in the 1980s educational activities with schools, in addition to school lessons deemed often insufficient, were frequent.

In 1977. the President of the Republic Valéry Giscard d’Estaing validated the development of the City of Sciences. Industry in Villette. Where the Palace wants to be closer to the academic sciences. the city is designed to make the link between industrial sciences, techniques and know-how. We will talk about electrostatics. mathematics in the first, for example, when the second will offer an exhibition on the radio.

What place scientific culture france? new

What place scientific culture france?

The diversity of scientific culture in France

Let’s decently decently deny Paris. Scientific culture is far from being limited to the capital and the Palais de la Découverte. With the effervescence of social demands of the 1960s, associations emerged to disseminate scientific culture throughout the national territory.

The institutionalization of these scientific culture structures took place in the 1980s. under the chairmanship of François Mitterrand. with the desire to supervise the work of scientific mediator and to create centers of scientific, technical and industrial culture (CCSTI) making it possible to disseminate this culture throughout the what place scientific culture france? new territory.

Today, the actors of scientific culture are marked by their great diversity, so that it is difficult to count them. Between the places of mediation centered on the technical. nature sciences, what place scientific culture france? those on heritage. popular education associations, museums and museums or even recent festivals, cultural thirds and independent mediators – not to mention the less institutional collectives and informal groups of amateurs passing under radars, scientific culture is a cultural field of great diversity.

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Scientific culture. social justice: Mission Impossible

This diversity of actors proposes scientific mediation actions in a strong context in social what place scientific culture france? new issues: democratic. ecological crises, disinformation, inequalities of access to professions and scientific studies … Access to scientific information is an issue of fighting what place scientific culture france? social injustices-defined by the philosopher Iris Marion Young as what constitutes institutional constraints to personal development (oppression). or (Domination).

But several French. international researchers have studied the inability of scientific culture to respond to the challenges of social justice which are. attributed to it. Partly because of overly descending projects, too short or not very suitable for the most marginalized audiences of cultural institutions.

The Palais de la Découverte is perhaps again a symbol of its time. because several criticisms can be sent to it. for example concerning the sociology of these rather well-off and graduates audiences, to the detriment of marginalized social groups. Admittedly. there are more disadvantaged social categories in science museums than those of art. but precarious and racialized what place scientific culture france? new populations remain in the minority.

The Palace was still trying to improve on this issue. for example through the “social field relays”, aimed at facilitating the visit of what place scientific culture france? people in economic precariousness.

But the results of this type of inclusive actions, which are found elsewhere in France, are generally mixed. Developing projects that really meet the needs of marginalized audiences requires time and financial means. However. the public authorities do not seem to finance scientific culture that meet these needs, according to professionals in the sector. This is not only the case for national structures but also for those local. For example. land of sciences. CCSTI of the Pays de la Loire region, recently announced the closure of its antenna from the average city of Roche-sur-Yon, open for 15 years, for lack of sufficient funding.

The situation of the discovery palace is therefore not an what place scientific culture france? new isolated problem. As a national institution of scientific culture. it is the symbol of a history of relations between sciences and society from its creation until today. And through the current crisis he what place scientific culture france? goes through. the question to be asked is perhaps that of the scientific culture we want. everywhere in France