LE PALAIS DE LA DÉCOUVERTE

It was Jean-Baptiste Perrin, a renowned scientist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1926, who was behind the design of this Palace of Discovery in 1934. A palate that is very symbolic and known from France, especially thanks to the presence of its famous planetarium. The Discovery Palace aims at showing the public, necessarily neophyte, «the science in the process of doing», that is to say, to remove the science from its confidentiality to bring it to the whole. Initially planned for not continuing, and when he had to close in 1937, his success decided the government of the day to perpetuate and link it to the University of Paris 3. It was from the 1970 s that he gradually became the palace we know today, with his fun and interactive exhibitions that enjoy so much from 7 to 77 years. Since 2010, it has been regrouped with the Cité des sciences et de l 'industrie within Universcience.

The Discovery Palace is first and foremost a beautiful building! Set on 25,000 m ² in a part of the Grand Palais (this also explains this), the visitor feels right at his own ease, especially when he finds out the magnificent lobby and its "amount" to knowledge. The planetarium that interests us first, is undoubtedly the symbol of the palace and also its most famous division… The dome on which the celestial vault is projected and the images measure 15 m in diameter. The sessions lasted an average of 45 minutes. The fidelity of the sky is quite remarkable: some connoisseurs even bring their pair of binoculars to observe some celestial objects (galaxies or nebulae) lying here in the meanders of constellations. And when you get out of such a show, you can't go back to earth! It should also be noted that access to the planetarium qualifies for visits to exhibitions and other scientific discovery departments. To attend the sessions, it is generally imperative to book in advance (possible from the online ticket box), due of course to the constant influx of visitors (we are in the middle of a tourist area).