The Great Gallery at the Air and Space Museum renovated

In 2019, the Air and Space Museum celebrates the centenary of its creation. The institution ends its year in style with the end of the work in the Grand Gallery, under renovation for five years. This Saturday, December 14, 2019, we are invited to discover the new tour routes and animations planned especially to celebrate this reopening: guided tours, lectures, treasure hunts, Kapla workshops and other surprises for the whole family. During the weekend of December 14 and 15, the entire museum is free.

The 4,000 square meters of exhibition space have been cleared of the walkways that crossed the room. The architects of theAtelier Gorka Piqueras architectes et associés have revived the art deco style that already adorns other parts of the museum.

The Air and Space Museum did not just renovate its buildings. To furnish the new spaces, 65 conservators refurbished more than 210 objects, including 83 art objects and toys, 34 paintings and 21 flight suits and accessories.

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The Grand Gallery contains 407 objects, 199 of which are new, pieces that have never been exhibited or have not been exhibited for at least 10 years. Come and admire the gondola of the airship La France, theAntoinette type VIIaeroplane or the aviation grand prix cup dating from 1910.

These objects are installed in the two new tour routes set up in the Grand Gallery. In the north wing, the Pioneers of the Air exhibition traces the history of air travel, from the first balloons to motorized aircraft. This part of the gallery is very bright, showing all the joy and hopes that accompanied the conquest of the air, and contrasts sharply with the second section, located in the south wing. The Great War exhibition recounts the dark moments of the First World War and the beginnings ofmilitaryaviation.

During the five years of work, the architects were also busy restoring the historic control tower of the Le Bourget terminal. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation having left the tower in 2018, the museum can now show it to the public. Don't hesitate to go and see it: it is the only control tower in the world that is permanently open to the public. From 2022, the tower will host a permanentexhibition on civil and military air navigation techniques and instruments.

The renovation project cost 26.5 million euros, 21.5 million of which were financed by the Ministry of Defense. With the new exhibitions in the Grande Galerie, the Air and Space Museum is expanding its permanent collections. The latter, which were previously free, will become chargeable as of December 17, 2019. The museum is introducing a single fee of 16 euros, which includes the permanent collections, tours of the aircraft and the Planet Pilot space. From December 14, 2019, go ahead and discover all the new features of theLe Bourget terminal.