Charlotte Bigg: The Palais de la découverte 1937-2027. A participant-observer's perspective

The Palais de la Découverte, a science museum in Paris dedicated to showcasing fundamental science, was founded in the wake of the International exposition that took place in 1937 in part as a response to the economic crisis and geopolitical tensions of the time. Closed in 2020 for refurbishment, the Palais de la découverte will reopen in March 2027, after a period of uncertainty during which it was compelled to spell out its relevance to face the challenges of our age.

Whether in 1937 or in 2027, the institution has embodied and showcased a particular configuration of science and politics that the talk will explore. Thereby, my peculiar position as participant-observer historian of science will be discussed, that went from writing about the history of science communication to working with museographers as one of the curators of the new exhibition (below, in a visit of the Museum building site), in charge of bringing in perspectives from history of science and STS into the museum.

Charlotte Bigg is an historian of science, director of research at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Alexandre Koyré. She trained in history at Oxford University and in history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University, subsequently working at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and at ETH Zurich. She has published widely on the material and visual cultures of science from the late eighteenth century to now. Her forthcoming book Imaging the Universe. Photography and Astronomy is due to be published by Reaktion Books in November 2026. She is also currently the curator in charge of the social and human sciences for the new exhibition of the Palais de la Découverte. 

This activity corresponds to the 2026-2027 opening lecture of the interuniversity master’s degree in the History of Science: History, Heritage and Scientific Communication (UAB-UB-UPF-CSIC). Organized by the Institute for the History of Science, it is aimed especially at master's students but open to the entire academic community and the general public.