The 35th edition of the Science Festival is rolling out, staged from October 2 to 12, 2026 across France, with a spotlight on Paris and Île-de-France. Since its launch in 1991 by the ministry responsible for Higher Education and Research, this national event invites the public to meet the people who push science forward in daily life. Workshops, demonstrations, talks, tours and hands-on experiments give families, students and curious minds of all ages a better grasp of the big scientific questions. This year, the theme "Savantes flavors" highlights the links between food, research and innovation. In Paris, the Académie du Climat is once again taking part in the event with several public sessions.
The venue is tailor-made for this kind of gathering. Since 2021, housed in the former town hall of Paris’s 4th arrondissement, the Climate Academy was created by the City of Paris to raise awareness among young people about environmental issues. Throughout the year, it offers free workshops, lectures, exhibitions, debates and participatory projects focused on climate, biodiversity, food, and the ecological transition. Designed primarily for ages 9-25, it remains accessible to all and has quickly established itself as a space for dialogue where scientists, associations and citizens can exchange views on the challenges of tomorrow.
The Science Festival is therefore a perfect opportunity to discover the Academy of Climate or to revisit it from a new angle. The theme "Savants’ Flavors" resonates with the topics regularly explored at this venue, whether it’s sustainable food, natural resources, or the environmental impact of our consumption habits. With family or friends, visitors can take part in activities, meet specialists, and get hands-on with different aspects of research. A way to better understand science while discovering a venue that, in just a few years, has become one of Paris’s leading spaces dedicated to climate issues.
Science Festival 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France: the lineup of free events
La fête de la Science is back from October 2 to 12, 2026 for its 35th edition! The idea? A week dedicated to science culture you can experience through a wealth of free events across France. Experiments, shows, open days, tours and a multitude of workshops—open to all and suitable for children—await you on the four corners of Paris and the Île-de-France region! [Read more]
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Your mission? Make the right choices to cut your carbon footprint in half. An action-packed experience!
A workshop offered by: MACIF X Gaïactica
Open to beginners and experienced participants · families
Participation eligibility :
• Target audiences: 11–15, 15–18, 18–25, 25 and up
• Conditions: Free admission
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
At the weather and climate table: let's savor the sciences!
Come discover the grand planetary recipe: which ingredients shape our weather, and what happens when the balance tips? For a weekend, embark on a scientific journey between sky and sea, through workshops, interactive activities, and encounters with researchers. An immersive experience to better understand the fragility of our atmosphere and oceans, while nurturing the joy of discovery.
See you at forumeteoclimat.com!
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 6 - 11 years, 11 - 15 years, 15 - 18 years, 18 - 25 years, 25 years and up
• Requirements: Reservation recommended
Hours: Saturday, 10 October — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Sunday, 11 October — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Eco-visionary games
Ecovisionnary Games turns the ecological transition into a playful, systemic adventure for younger generations. Supported by Natur’Alliée, a non-profit association governed by the 1901 law, the project helps children and teens decode climate challenges without fear, while cultivating core human values. By reconnecting people with the living world, Ecovisionnary Games is nurturing a generation of informed, confident citizens who actively drive the transition.
This ambition is realized through immersive, modular game experiences designed to make these issues accessible and actionable.
Audience: newcomers & enthusiasts · families
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 11–15, 15–18, 18–25, 25 and over
• Requirements: Booking required
Timings: Saturday, October 10 — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Sunday, October 11 — 1:00 PM to 6:0 PM
Fishmonger’s stall
A workshop offered by: MACIF and the Surfrider Foundation
Audience: curious newcomers and beginners · families
Participation conditions:
• Target audiences: 11–15, 15–18, 18–25, 25 and up
• Conditions: Free admission
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Live weather: measure, understand, and explore!
Discover the gear rolled out under “WEATHER at School”: the Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station, part of the Sciences at School equipment program, all designed to explore major weather concepts through an interactive game.
An workshop offered by the Météo Bretagne Association and the Météo Centre-Val de Loire Association, featuring the “WEATHER at School” equipment plan from Sciences at School.
Audience: newcomers & beginners · families
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 11–15, 15–18, 18–25, 25 and up
• Conditions: Free admission
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Understanding to Act: Perseverance in Antarctica
The event will take the form of an interactive exchange, driven by games and participatory workshops. Participants will embark on a journey to the Southern Ocean, discovering its crucial role in climate regulation and its exceptional biodiversity, through the latest expedition of explorer Jean-Louis Étienne to the South Pole, aboard the grand scientific sailing vessel PERSEVERANCE.
A workshop offered by the Jean-Louis Étienne Association
Audience: curious minds & beginners · families
Participation rules:
• Target audiences: 11–15 years, 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 years and up
• Requirements: Free admission
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Let Me Set the Vibe with Comedy Club
The comedian-writer Matthieu Brillard, spokesman for the media Le Bulbe, returns with a Comedy Club like no other, featuring a mic share among Elise Bordet, science-communication journalist, Matthieu Bayard, comedian, and Gaël Musquet, hacker, meteorologist and founder of the HAND association — for a night that pairs laughs with ecological reflection. After these stand-up moments, Brillard will have them perform in the second half of the evening in the game "The Games Are All Green"!
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 11–15, 15–18, 18–25, 25 and up
• Requirements: Booking required
Hours: Friday, October 9 — 6:45 PM to 9:00 PM
Screening and Debate: Tara Polar Station
The Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the rest of the world. To study this, the Tara Ocean Foundation designed the Tara Polar Station, a scientific outpost built to drift on the sea ice for twenty years.
The screening of the 52-minute film recounting this human and scientific adventure will be followed by a discussion with two Tara Ocean Foundation members to share behind the scenes of this pioneering mission:
Nathalie Joli, Science Manager, Tara Polar Station, and Mathieu Auger, Head of Scientific Culture Development at the Tara Ocean Foundation.
Presented by the Tara Ocean Foundation
Audience: Discovery
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 11–15 years, 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 years and up
• Requirements: Booking required
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 4:30 PM–6:00 PM
Ocean observation in the service of humanity
Facing the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, a deeper understanding of the ocean is essential to take action.
Led by Victor Brun (Plateforme Océan & Climat), Sabrina Speich (École Normale Supérieure & Plateforme Océan & Climat), Roberto Casati (Institut Jean Nicod) & Cosma Cazé (Médialab of Sciences Po) will share their knowledge to help you explore observational tools, the threats that endanger the sea, and the innovative solutions being developed to protect it.
An opportunity to exchange organized by the Plateforme Océan et Climat
For an informed audience
Participation requirements :
• Target audiences : 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 years and older
• Requirements : Booking required
Schedule: Saturday, October 10 — 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Dance for the Climate!
The Madagascan traditional dance group Ralina unveils a brand-new piece: a dance crafted around climate issues.
Through movement, music, and the colors of Madagascar, Ralina gives shape to a universal message: the fragility of our environment and the power of collective action in the face of this challenge.
Far from guilt-tripping or alarmist talk, this performance invites audiences to feel, to understand, and to act together, in a spirit of sharing and hope. A sensitive, vibrant reminder that culture can also be a language to speak about the world around us.
All Audiences
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 3–6 years, 6–11 years, 11–15 years, 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 years and up
• Conditions: Free admission
Schedule: Saturday, October 10 — 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM
Bees and flowers, a love affair under threat
Nature is wonderfully made. Harmony fills the fields, the meadows, the forests where plants entice us with their flowers and their delicate fragrance. Occasionally a bee alights, then moves on. It’s the romantic tableau of two longtime companions, two eternal lovers: the bee and the flower.
But do you really know what draws bees to visit blossoms? What makes plants produce flowers, each more extravagant than the last?
Take the time to attend this theatrical, funny, and moving talk, to meet the flowers and the bees, to discover their intimacy, their partnership, and also the dangers increasingly lining the path of their love.
A theatrically staged conference produced by Simon Klein and Pauline Pidoux of the company Rêvolante
Discovery and family audience from 10 years old
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 11–15 years, 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 and up
• Requirements: Booking required
Schedule: Saturday, October 10 — 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The Marais Sings… Nature
For more than twenty years, Le Marais Chante has been rooted in the heart of Paris’s 3rd arrondissement. This year, the choir offers a musical and literary stroll dedicated to nature, weaving together pieces from the vocal repertoire, poetry, and reflections on the living world.
A performance by the Le Marais Chante choir and its conductor, Xavier Béraud.
All audiences
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 3 - 6 years, 6 - 11 years, 11 - 15 years, 15 - 18 years, 18 - 25 years, 25 years and up
• Conditions: Free admission
Hours: Saturday, October 10 — 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Cloudtober
Cloudtober is a project that raises awareness of meteorology and the imagination of the sky. Built on André des Gachons’s observation sheets, an amateur meteorologist from the early 20th century, three friends tracked weather data throughout October and painted daily between London, Rennes, and Chambéry to share their wonder of the sky. A creative initiative spearheaded by Samuel ZBYNOVSKY, Thibaut HOUETTE, and Tristan SCHMIDT.
Presented by Samuel Zbynovsky and hosted by Myriam Seurat
Public discovery
Participation conditions:
• Eligible audiences: 11–15 years, 15–18 years, 18–25 years, 25 years and up
• Requirements: Booking required
Schedule: Sunday, October 11 — 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Weather & climate: telling it straight, reporting accurately
Every evening, weather presenters report on the weather and, increasingly, on a shifting climate. Alongside scientists, what is their role in informing the public and raising awareness about climate issues? A debate that questions this power of popularization, balancing rigor with accessibility.
With Karine Durand, a journalist specializing in extreme weather, moderating, you’ll find:
- Louis Bodin, meteorologist forecaster and TF1 weather presenter, head of RTL’s weather department
- Myriam Seurat, weather-climate journalist at France Télévisions
- Cécile Maguin, research engineer at LSCE-IPSL, expert on climate misinformation in the media (NGO Science Feedback)
Public discovery & beginners · families
Participation requirements:
• Target audiences: 15–18, 18–25, 25 and up
• Requirements: Booking required
Schedule: Sunday, October 11 — 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
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Dates and Opening Time
From October 2, 2026 to October 12, 2026
Location
Climate Academy
2 Pl. Baudoyer
75004 Paris 4
Route planner
Accessibility info
Prices
Free
Official website
www.academieduclimat.paris
Science Festival 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France: the lineup of free events
