Cité des sciences: Critical thinking, the exhibition that unsettles our certainties — our photos

In an era of screens, polished images, blunt opinions, and an endless stream of content, sorting through it all can be tricky. What we see, what we believe, what we share—or what we refuse to hear—doesn't always stem from the rational choices we imagine.

The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie devotes a temporary exhibition to this topic with Esprit critique, to be unveiled from July 7 to August 29, 2026. Designed for children as young as 10 and for adults alike, the journey examines how we reason, the biases that shape our decisions, and the tricks used to steer our perception of reality.

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Still as playful as educational, this exhibition uses play and humor to test how we think and how we decide. In everyday life, we make thousands of choices, more or less consciously. It’s time to uncover what’s behind them! To that end, the Cité des Sciences presents us with a small staging.

The exhibition unfolds in a cityscape setting: a grocery store, a town hall, a kiosk... Armed with your connected bracelet, wander through this little town and immerse yourself in a variety of experiences. Through tests and games, your choices and biases become increasingly evident, until a portrait of you emerges. Who do you trust, and why? Can you resist the pressure of a crowd or society, can you say "I don’t know"...? The aim of the experience: to identify what motivates our beliefs and choices in the shadows, and to question these reflexes.

Hone your critical thinking in a playful exhibition and offbeat, which transforms social and cognitive sciences into a game deeper than it seems... Will you give the experience a try at the Cité des Sciences?