The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie ("City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI) or simply CSI is the biggest

science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

in Europe. Located in the

Parc de la Villette The Parc de la Villette is the third-largest park in Paris, in area, located at the northeastern edge of the city in the 19th arrondissement. The park houses one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including the Cité de ...

in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultural Centers of Science, Technology and Industry (CCSTI), promoting science and science culture. About five million people visit the Cité each year. Attractions include a

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

, a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

(the

Argonaute The Argonaute protein family, first discovered for its evolutionarily conserved stem cell function, plays a central role in RNA silencing processes as essential components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC is responsible for the g ...

), an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

theatre (

La Géode La Géode is a mirror-finished geodesic dome that holds an Omnimax theatre in Parc de la Villette at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (City of Science and Industry) in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. The nearest Paris Métro st ...

) and special areas for children and teenagers. The CSI is classified as a public establishment of an industrial and commercial character, an establishment specialising in the fostering of scientific and technical culture. Created on the initiative of President Giscard d'Estaing, the goal of the Cité is to spread scientific and technical knowledge among the public, particularly for youth, and to promote public interest in science, research and industry. The most notable features of the "bioclimatic facade" facing the park are Les Serres – three greenhouse spaces each 32 metres high, 32 metres wide and 8 metres deep. The facades of Les Serres were the first structural glass walls to be constructed without framing or supporting fins. Between 30 May and 1 June 2008, the museum hosted the 3rd

International Salon for Peace Initiatives The International Salon for Peace Initiatives is organized in the framework of the International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001–2010) declared by the United Nations in 1998. Or ...

Features

* Explore (levels 1, 2, and 3) * The library of science and industry (Médiathèque, level −1) * City of children (level 0) * Auditorium and things (level 0) *

Louis Lumière Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 Besançon – 6 June 1948, Bandol) was a French engineer and industrialist who played a key role in the development of photography and cinema. Early life and education Lumière was one of four children of ...

theatre (level 0) * Planetarium (located between exhibits on level 2) * Numeric crossroads (level −1) * City of careers (level −1) * City of health (level −1) * Meeting place (level −1) * Aquarium (level −2) * Jean bertin hall (level 0) *

Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...

hall (level 0) * Picnic area (level 0) * Post office (level 0) * Store for scientific books and toys (level 0) * Restaurants (level −2) *''

'' museum ship

History

The building is constructed around the vast steel trusses of an abattoir sales hall on which construction had halted in 1973. The transformation, commissioned on 15 September 1980, was designed by the architect Adrien Fainsilber and the engineering firm Rice Francis Ritchie (

RFR Engineers RFR was founded in Paris in 1981 as Rice Francis Ritchie sarl, by Peter Rice (structural engineer), Martin Francis (industrial and yacht designer) and Ian Ritchie (architect). It had offices in Stuttgart, Germany; Shanghai, China; and Abu Dhabi, Un ...

). It was opened on 13 March 1986, inaugurated by

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

upon the occasion of the encounter of the

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

space probe with

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...

Floor Directory

Access

It is accessible by Métro Line 7 at the Porte de la Villette station and by bus lines 60, 71, 75, 139, 150, 151, 152 and 170. The tramway T3b was opened in December 2012.RATP

References

External links