Fête de la Science in Seine-Saint-Denis

The Fête de la Science in Seine-Saint-Denis: scientific curiosity for everyone

Every year in October, the national Fête de la Science takes over the Seine-Saint-Denis region with a rich and diverse program. Experimentation workshops, researcher conferences, scientific exhibitions, laboratory visits, and meetings with scientists: for about ten days, the department transforms its museums, universities, and public spaces into places for scientific awakening. The goal is to make science accessible, attractive, and exciting for all audiences, from young children to adults.

Iconic venues for science

Seine-Saint-Denis is home to major scientific and cultural facilities that make this territory a key player in scientific culture in the Île-de-France region.

The Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace du Bourget, located on the historic site of the Bourget airfield, is one of the largest aeronautical museums in the world. During the Fête de la Science 2025 (theme: “Intelligence(s)”), the museum offered a full day of activities on Sunday, October 5th: scientific experiments on aeronautics, family workshops on the principles of flight, and guided tours of the collections for all ages.

The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, although technically located in Paris (La Villette), is on the border of Seine-Saint-Denis and welcomes many visitors from the department each year. For the Fête de la Science, it offers a particularly rich program covering artificial intelligence, astronomy, physics-chemistry, the living world, geosciences, the environment, mathematics, robots, and coding.

The Unipop of Bagnolet: science in the city

The Université Populaire (Unipop) of Bagnolet is one of the original participants in the Fête de la Science in Seine-Saint-Denis. This popular education structure offers its festival “Sciences dans la ville. Adopte un·e chercheur·e !” (Science in the city. Adopt a researcher!) every year from October 3rd to 13th in Bagnolet. The initiative is simple and effective: university researchers leave their laboratories to meet residents in cafes, libraries, and public spaces in the city. These informal and friendly meetings allow everyone to ask their questions to a real scientist, understand their research, and demystify science.

Universities in the territory

The Universities Paris 8 (Saint-Denis) and Paris 13 (Villetaneuse) actively participate in the Fête de la Science by opening their doors to the public, organizing conferences and workshops, and sending their researchers to high schools and middle schools in the department. This university involvement is essential to show young people in Seine-Saint-Denis that scientific research is also conducted in their territory, and to inspire scientific vocations in a population that greatly needs it.

An issue of guidance and equality

In a department where the rate of higher scientific education enrollment is below the national average, the Fête de la Science has a particular importance: to show young people that science is accessible to them, that women and men who look like them conduct research, and that scientific careers are open to everyone. This issue of guidance and equal opportunities gives the event a strong social and educational dimension.