"Closing the Palais de la Découverte or downsizing it would be a loss for the entire international community."
We , representatives of institutions committed to sharing science across Europe and the world, express our deep concern about the uncertain future of the Palais de la Découverte in Paris.
For more than eight decades, the Palais de la Découverte has been a leading institution in science education—not only in France but also internationally, serving as a model of challenging, accessible, and inspiring science education. Its distinctive and renowned approach has inspired generations of scientists, teachers, and citizens by making complex ideas accessible and fostering a lasting interest in science. It has been—and remains—a key player in our field.
The closure or permanent reduction of this institution would not only represent a loss for Paris or for France, but for the entire international community that defends open access to knowledge and scientific culture.
We call on the authorities concerned to guarantee the future of the Palais de la Découverte, to ensure that it remains in its historic location at the Palais d'Antin, and to reaffirm their lasting commitment to its mission, its teams, and the essential role it plays in placing science at the heart of our shared cultural heritage.
Signatories: Marianne Achiam , Associate Professor of Science Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Bärbel Auffermann, Director of the Neanderthal Museum, Germany; Andrea Bandelli, Executive Chairman of the Woven Foundation for Creative Climate Communication, the Netherlands; Silvina Basile, Science Outreach Program Coordinator, National University of La Plata, Argentina; Martin W Bauer, Professor of Social Psychology, London School of Economics; Stéphane Berghmans, CEO, Technopolis, Belgium; Maria Emilia Beyer, Trustee, Universum Science Museum UNAM, Mexico City; Sir Ian Blatchford, Trustee and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, UK; Marjolein van Breemen, Director of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; Martha Cambre, General Coordinator of the Science Museum Espacio Ciencia in Montvideo, Uruguay; Antonia Caola, Communications Officer of the Science Museum, Trento, Italy; Andréa Fernandes Costa, President of the Brazilian Association of Museums and Science Centers, Brazil; Lavinia Del Longo, Head of the Technical Office of the Science Museum, Trento, Italy; Alessandra Drioli, Ambassador, Fondazione IDIS - City of Science, Italy; Cyril Dworsky, International Relations Coordinator, European Network of Children's Universities EUCU.NET, Vienna, Austria; Sigrid Falla, Director of Experience Architecture, Maloka Science Center, Bogotá, Colombia; Robert Firmhofer, Director General of the Copernicus Science Center, Warsaw, Poland; Dr. Derek Fish, Director of the Unizulu Science Center, South Africa; Michele Fontana, Co-founder and Artistic Director, KOI Public Engagement, Belgium; Fiorenzo Marco Galli, Director General of the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology Foundation, Italy; Maria Isabel Garcia, Director/Curator of The Mind Science Museum, Philippines; Kim Gladstone Herlev, Director General of Experimentarium, Danish Science Center, Denmark; Diego Golombek, University of San Andrés/CONICET, Argentina; Michael John Gorman, Director of the MIT Museum and Professor of the Practice of Science, Technology and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Clayton Micallef Grimaud, Senior Director, National Skills Council, Malta; Miguel García Guerrero, Executive Director of the Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico; Dr. Andreas Gundelwein, CEO, Experimenta GmbH, Germany; Mairéad Hurley, Assistant Professor of Science and Social Education, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Karoline Iber, President of the European Network of Children's Universities EUCU.NET, Vienna, Austria; Colin Johnson OBE, Honorary Research Fellow of the European Network of Science Centres and Museums Ecsite, Cardiff University, UK; Ulrike Kastrup, Director of the Science Center focusTerra, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Dr. Ulrich Kernbach, Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany; Dr. Stuart Kohlhagen, Founder of The Science Nomad, Australia; Dr. Miha Kos, CEO of The House of Experiments (Hiša eksperimentov), Slovenian Science Centre (since 1996), Slovenia; Thorsten-D. Künnemann, Managing Director of the Swiss Science Centre Technorama, Winterthur, Switzerland; Dobrivoje Lale Erić, Head of International Cooperation of the Centre for the Promotion of Science, Serbia; Dee Laval, Cultural Director and Editorial Director at V! VANT, UK; Lars Leegaard Maroy, Managing Director of the VilVite Science Centre in Bergen, Norway; Bruce V. Lewenstein, Professor in the Department of Communication and Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University, USA; Elisabeth Limbeck-Lilienau, Head of Exhibitions, Technisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria; Amparo Leyman Pino, Director and Founder of Yellow Cow Consulting LLC, USA; Sebastian Martin, Ph.D., Science Center Consultant, San Francisco, California, USA; Luisa Massarani, Coordinator of the National Institute for Public Communication in Science and Technology, Researcher at Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Brazil; Vanessa Mignan Jenkins, Independent Consultant, Croatia; Mikko Myllykoski, Managing Director of Heureka, Finnish Science Center, Finland; Michael Oettli, President of the Society of Natural Sciences and Children's University Winterthur, Switzerland; Maarten Okkersen, Senior Advisor in Experience Development and Design, Museon-Omniversum, The Hague, Netherlands; Elise Raphael, Co-Director of Geneva Mathematical Escapes, University of Geneva; Elaine Reynoso Haynes, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico; Paola Rodari, Museology Student, Master's Degree in Science Communication, SISSA, Italy; Andrés Roldán, CEO of Explora Park, Medellín, Colombia; Pedro Russo, Associate Professor of Science Communication and Society at Leiden University, the Netherlands; Wendy Sadler, Professor of Science Communication, Cardiff University; Michael Seifert, Founder of the Children's University of Tübingen, Germany; Fiorella Silveira, Educational Coordinator of the Science Museum Espacio Ciencia of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay, Uruguay; Silvia Singer, Executive Director of the Interactive Museum of the Economy, Mexico City, Mexico; Walter Staveloz, Founder and President of MuseumExpert.org, USA; Harry White, Science Center Consultant, HWConsult, Wales, UK.
Le Monde
