ESPCI Paris – PSL Celebrates Science in the Heart of the 5th Arrondissement

Week-Long Focus: From Marie Curie to the City of Tomorrow

Among the new features of this edition are two experimental exhibitions that will explore the connection between the history of science and major contemporary issues.

Through the lens of Marie Curie and radioactivity, visitors will be able to explore a scientific history closely tied to ESPCI Paris – PSL. Experiments, documents, and instruments will shed light on the discovery and study of radioactivity, as well as make usually invisible phenomena visible. In particular, the ESPGG cloud chamber will allow visitors to observe the trajectories left by certain ionizing particles.

The “City of Tomorrow” track will offer participants the opportunity to explore the challenges our cities face in the context of climate change. Heat transfer, insulation, air conditioning, the greenhouse effect, energy efficiency, and innovative materials: these are all phenomena that visitors can explore to better understand the scientific challenges associated with adapting our urban environments.

These new hands-on activities will be offered at various times during the Science Festival, first to schoolchildren during the week and then to the general public on Saturday, October 10.

Sunday, October 4: Follow the Paths of Light

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – PSL University Science Village, Place Maubert, 5th arrondissement, Paris

How does light make its way through matter? At the University of PSL’s science village, the Smart Waves Program will offer a series of simple, hands-on activities designed to help participants discover the phenomena that govern the propagation of light.

Refraction, diffraction, or scattering: Visitors will be able to experiment with these phenomena, follow the many paths that light takes, and meet the researchers who study them.

For all ages – free admission

Monday, October 5, through Friday, October 9: A week in the labs for schoolchildren

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – ESPCI Paris – PSL and the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Science Center, 10 rue Vauquelin, Paris 5th arrondissement

For an entire week, ESPCI Paris – PSL welcomes elementary, middle, and high school classes to give them a behind-the-scenes look at research and let them conduct experiments alongside the people who bring it to life every day.

Students will meet researchers and doctoral candidates from several laboratories at the School and its partner institutions. Wave and imaging physics, fluid and solid mechanics, chemistry, materials science, physical chemistry of interfaces, and Earth sciences: the tours will showcase the diversity of research conducted at ESPCI.

Workshops designed for middle and high school students will also provide hands-on opportunities to explore major contemporary environmental issues. Topics such as heat transfer, insulation, air conditioning, the greenhouse effect, energy efficiency, and innovative materials will help students better understand the physical phenomena at the heart of climate challenges.

On Friday, October 9, the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Science Center will be hosting elementary school classes in particular. Making liquid beads, levitating objects, watching materials change color… through these fun experiments, students will observe sometimes surprising phenomena and learn how they work.

This program is reserved for classes that have booked their visit in advance.

Tuesday, October 6, through Thursday, October 8, and Tuesday, October 13: Exploring Interfaces: From the impressionists to physicists and chemists

From 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. October 6–8 and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on October 13 – Soft Matter Science and Engineering Laboratory, ESPCI Paris – PSL, 10 rue Vauquelin, Paris 5th arrondissement

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of user interfaces at the heart of a multidisciplinary laboratory, where science and art come together.

Discover the mysteries of interfaces at the Soft Matter Science and Engineering Laboratory through an immersive scavenger hunt that blends art and science across five themed rooms. Why are soap bubbles round? Where do the colors in soap films come from? How do dewdrops form? 

Through experimentation and observation, explore the physical phenomena that shape our daily lives and discover how researchers draw inspiration from nature to develop the materials and technologies of the future. The laboratory opens its doors to visitors of all ages, including school groups and members of the public.

Reserved for school groups October 6–8; open to the general public on October 13 – Reservations required

Thursday, October 8, through Friday, October 9: Visit a macroscopic physics research lab!

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – PMMH, ESPCI Paris – PSL, Jussieu Campus – Sorbonne University, 7 quai Saint Bernard, Paris 5th arrondissement

A visit by about ten classes to the laboratory. Each student participates in three workshops led by laboratory staff.

The Laboratory of Physics and Mechanics of Heterogeneous Media invites schoolchildren to reflect on the stereotypes associated with researchers in physics and mechanics, to get a firsthand look at the day-to-day life and work of researchers, and to highlight the variety of roles within the lab: researchers, students, postdocs, engineers, technicians, and even administrative staff!

Come share our enthusiasm for this wonderful scientist!

For school groups only – Reservation required

Friday, October 9: NanoRumors

At 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. – Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, 6 rue Jean-Calvin, Paris 5th arrondissement

Sharing knowledge transforms it. What if your students could experience this for themselves?

What if your students could experience firsthand the challenges of sharing scientific knowledge?
The interactive show *NanoRumeurs* is back for the 2026 Science Festival!
Inspired by the game “Chinese Whispers,” it invites high school students to tackle the challenges of disseminating scientific knowledge firsthand.

An original concept

At the Heart of the Experience:
• Nanoscience researchers present their work to an initial group of students.
• Information spreads by word of mouth, transforms, becomes distorted, or is reinvented.
• The distortions and unexpected analogies are then analyzed by Giancarlo RIZZA, research director at the CEA and creator of NanoRumeurs

The goal: to show how scientific knowledge is constructed, transmitted… and sometimes distorted, while creating a space for dialogue between science and society.
A fun, interdisciplinary
experience, NanoRumeurs straddles the line between science communication and group play.
It places error at the heart of the experience, not as a mistake, but as a tool for reflecting on how we convey and receive knowledge.

For high school students only – Reservation required

Saturday, October 10: An afternoon of science open to everyone

2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m – ESPCI Paris – PSL and the Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, 10 rue Vauquelin, Paris 5th arrondissement

On Saturday, ESPCI Paris – PSL and the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Science Center will open their doors to the general public for an afternoon dedicated to experimentation and scientific discovery.

Visitors of all ages can move between demonstrations, hands-on activities, and workshops, meet scientists, and explore various research topics being developed at the School. It’s an opportunity to discover, in a hands-on and accessible way, the scientific phenomena that shape our environment and our daily lives.

This edition will also offer the opportunity to explore new hands-on activities focused on Marie Curie and radioactivity, as well as the challenges facing the city of the future, two themes that will also be presented to schoolchildren throughout the week.

For all ages – free admission

Spotlight: From Marie Curie to the City of Tomorrow (all week)

Among the new features of this edition are two experimental exhibitions that will explore the connection between the history of science and major contemporary issues.

Through the lens of Marie Curie and radioactivity, visitors will be able to explore a scientific history closely tied to ESPCI Paris – PSL. Experiments, documents, and instruments will shed light on the discovery and study of radioactivity, as well as make usually invisible phenomena visible. In particular, the ESPGG cloud chamber will allow visitors to observe the trajectories left by certain ionizing particles.

The “City of Tomorrow” track will offer participants the opportunity to explore the challenges our cities face in the context of climate change. Heat transfer, insulation, air conditioning, the greenhouse effect, energy efficiency, and innovative materials: these are all phenomena that visitors can explore to better understand the scientific challenges associated with adapting our urban environments.

These new hands-on activities will be offered at various times during the Science Festival, first to schoolchildren during the week and then to the general public on Saturday, October 10.

Would you like some more microfluidics?

From 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, 6 rue Jean-Calvin, Paris 5th arrondissement

Just a few minutes from ESPCI, the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Institute invites the public to discover microfluidics, the art of manipulating fluids on the micron scale.

From chemistry to biology, from synthesis to analysis, from energy to health, researchers and doctoral students, both men and women, will lead a variety of workshops combining observation and hands-on activities.

A gourmet menu that anyone can enjoy without a reservation, with something for every taste.

Open to the public – free admission, limited to 60 people

Experience Research

Observing what is usually invisible, experimenting, asking questions, meeting scientists, and visiting laboratories: through this new edition of the Fête de la Science, ESPCI Paris – PSL aims to make research accessible to as many people as possible and to share the curiosity that drives its teams every day.