Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie

48°53′44.002″N 2°23′17.002″E

Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
La Cité des Sciences
Established13 March 1986
LocationParc de la Villette, Paris, France
TypeScience museum
DirectorClaudie Haigneré
Public transit accessParis MétroParis Métro Line 7 Tramways in Île-de-FranceÎle-de-France tramway Line 3b
Porte de la Villette
Websitewww.cite-sciences.fr/en/

The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie ("City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI)[1][2] or simply CSI[3] is the biggest science museum in Europe.[4] Located in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultural Centers of Science, Technology and Industry (CCSTI), promoting science and science culture.

About five million people visit the Cité each year. Attractions include a planetarium, a submarine (the Argonaute), an IMAX theatre (La Géode) and special areas for children and teenagers. The CSI is classified as a public establishment of an industrial and commercial character, an establishment specialising in the fostering of scientific and technical culture. Created on the initiative of President Giscard d'Estaing, the goal of the Cité is to spread scientific and technical knowledge among the public, particularly for youth, and to promote public interest in science, research and industry.

The most notable features of the "bioclimatic facade" facing the park are Les Serres – three greenhouse spaces each 32 metres high, 32 metres wide and 8 metres deep. The facades of Les Serres were the first structural glass walls to be constructed without framing or supporting fins. Between 30 May, and 1 June 2008, the museum hosted the 3rd International Salon for Peace Initiatives.

In 2009, the Cité des Sciences and the Palais de la Découverte were brought together in a common establishment, named Universcience, with EPIC status.[5]

Features
La Cité des Sciences main hall escalator
Museum interior
  • Explore (levels 1, 2, and 3)
  • The library of science and industry (Médiathèque, level −1)
  • City of children (level 0)
  • Auditorium and things (level 0)
  • Louis Lumière theatre (level 0)
  • Planetarium (located between exhibits on level 2)
  • Numeric crossroads (level −1)
  • City of careers (level −1)
  • City of health (level −1)
  • Meeting place (level −1)
  • Aquarium (level −2)
  • Jean bertin hall (level 0)
  • Condorcet hall (level 0)
  • Picnic area (level 0)
  • Post office (level 0)
  • Store for scientific books and toys (level 0)
  • Restaurants (level −2)
  • Argonaute museum ship

History

The building is constructed around the vast steel trusses of an abattoir sales hall on which construction had halted in 1973. The transformation, commissioned on 15 September 1980, was designed by the architect Adrien Fainsilber and the engineering firm Rice Francis Ritchie (RFR Engineers).[6][7] It was opened on 13 March 1986, inaugurated by François Mitterrand upon the occasion of the encounter of the Giotto space probe with Halley's Comet.

Floor Directory
Exhibitions Shows Resources Facilities
Level 2 Two permanent + two temporary exhibitions

Activity points		 Planetarium Snack bar
Level 1 Six permanent + two temporary exhibitions + a greenhouse


Activity points		 Snack bar
Level 0 Cité des Enfants, 2–7-year-olds
Cité des Enfants, 5–12-year-olds
Shadows and light
Argonaute submarine		 Louis-Lumière cinema
Cinaxe cinema		 Library (BSI) – children's section
Auditorium		 Information desk, ticket desk
Café, Shop
Post office
Cloakroom
Cash machine
Level −1 Multimedia Library (BSI)
Vocal guidance
Health Information
Digital Forum		 La Villette Conference Centre
Group Cloakroom
Level −2 Géode Aquarium Restaurant
Cafeteria
Café
Car Parks

Access

It is accessible by Métro Line 7 at the Porte de la Villette station and by bus lines 60, 71, 75, 139, 150, 151, 152 and 170. The tramway T3b was opened in December 2012.[8]

See also

References
  1. Fernandès, Margarida (1996). "La cité des sciences et de l'industrie : Un nouveau lieu de formation ?". Études de Communication (19): 67–73. doi:10.4000/edc.2412.
  2. "Cité des Sciences & de l'Industrie".
  3. "Cerveau : De la suite dans les idées - Expos permanentes d'Explora - Cité des sciences et de l'industrie - Expositions, conférences, cinémas, activités culturelles et sorties touristiques pour les enfants, les parents, les familles - Paris".
  4. Arfin, Ferne (12 January 2009). "France: Insider's guide to Paris". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009. BEST FOR FAMILIES Parc de la Villette, in north-east Paris, is junior heaven. In addition to several adventure playgrounds and 35 "follies" housing activities and exhibitions, it holds the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (00 33 1 4005 7000; www.cite-sciences.fr/english), Europe's biggest science museum
  5. "Décret n°2009-1491 du 3 décembre 2009 portant création de l'établissement public du palais de la Découverte et de la Cité des sciences et de l'industrie". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  6. "Engineering Timelines - Les Serres et Toiture Accueil, La Villette".
  7. Fiero, Annette. " The Glass State: The Technology of the Spectacle, Paris, 1981-1998". Chapter 4; Symbolic Structures p. 153. MIT Press 2003 ISBN 026206233X, 9780262062336
  8. RATP
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