Fête de la science 2018

On Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13, 2018, the Collège de France joined the Fête de la science as it does every year, offering a series of workshops.

On Friday, October 12, Collège de France welcomed students from Collège François Villon (Paris), Lycée Assomption (Bondy), Lycée Fénelon (Vaujours) and Lycée du Petit Val (Sucy en Brie).

On Saturday October 13, the workshops were open to the general public.

Thanks to the many activities offered by young researchers from the Collège de France, visitors were able to discover the research being carried out at our centuries-old institution, and carry out observations and experiments around a dozen experimental science themes.

The human sciences were also represented, with the exhibition Mesha and the Bible: When a Stone Tells History, its Phoenician writing workshop and its presentation of bookbinding and stamping techniques.

Collège de France looks forward to welcoming more of you next year and celebrating science with you!

Scientific workshops

Neurocontrol

Using equipment for recording neuronal activity, the public had fun retrieving one person's nerve signal via electrodes, amplifying it and then transmitting it to the nerves of another person's arm, in order to reproduce the same movement, independently of his or her will.

Something new about eggs

The aim of this stand was to introduce the notion of Evolution through a workshop comparing juvenile bird eggs and skins (size, shape, color). The public could also learn about embryonic development by observing a growing embryo inside its egg!

Building a microscope at home

Participants had the opportunity to learn how to build a microscope from everyday materials, then use it to make observations.

Isolating DNA from plant tissue

The young researchers extracted DNA from kiwifruit, whose cells are rich in DNA.

Molecular Cuisine

The audience was able to experiment with the chemistry that goes on in the everyday kitchen.

Complex fluids

This workshop featured three experiments on the theme of complex fluids.

Chemistry and color

After a general presentation of the physical and chemical phenomena behind color formation, the young researchers in this workshop proposed experiments on color change, luminescence and phosphorescence.

Energy storage

Several experiments, some of them interactive, demonstrated the possibility of using chemistry to store energy.

Acoustic levitation

Here, thanks to acoustic levitation experiments, the public could levitate small balls at the nodes of a stationary acoustic wave.

Non-Newtonian fluids and waveguides

This experiment involved observing the special properties of a non-Newtonian fluid flow, then using it as a waveguide for a laser beam.