SelectionDoes the summer period necessarily lead to “unplugging your brain”? It would be a shame, as the proposals for scientific culture have multiplied throughout the territory. Here are some discovery ideas for young and old.
Paleontologist for a day
Gannat (Allier)
In 1993, a twenty-three million year old fossil was discovered in a quarry in Gannat, in the Allier department: the rhinoceros. Diaceratherium lemanense lived at a time when a large lake covered Limagne in a tropical climate.
Thirty years later, Paléopolis, a park dedicated to extinct forms of life, occupies the site. Among the activities offered this summer is an immersion in the landscape occupied by the rhinoceros, and a whole range of exotic flora and fauna. Diving further back in time, we can also contemplate life-size models of dinosaurs, in connection with the film Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg. And to get closer to our species, the park offers, by online reservation, a escape game around Lucy, the famous Australopithecus co-discovered by Yves Coppens.
western treasures
Reze (Loire-Atlantique)
Lovers of small or large treasures, the exhibition presented at the Chronograph in Rézé, near Nantes, is for you. On the program, not far from 3,000 coins which are as many archaeological witnesses to the political, economic, commercial and military history of the Loire-Atlantique department.
From the appearance of a form of currency around 1600 BC to ancient Gallic and Roman treasures, from gold, silver and copper minted in the Middle Ages to the first francs after the Revolution, we progresses along a clever chronological path. We also learn the techniques of investigation (archaeometry) and the necessary professions – archaeologists, restorers, numismatists – to make these archives from the ground speak. A treasure map organized for children brings an ideal playful dimension for families.
Arts at the castle
Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines)
Located in the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines), the National Archeology Museum (MAN) is not the best known of museums, even though it is devoted to the past of our country. Throughout the summer, the MAN offers an additional reason to take an interest in it by organizing workshops for children led by the artist Clara Baum and the Archéologos mediation structure. The little ones will notably be able to learn how to manage a Gallo-Roman estate, create characters inspired by Gallic art, become familiar with ceramics or even simulate an archaeological dig.
And in this year of the bicentenary of the decipherment of hieroglyphs by Champollion, it’s a safe bet that the workshop on ancient Egyptian writing will quickly fill up.
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