ENTRE FLYING TO THE MOON
It was just 50 years ago when the world watched the moon landing on July 20th, 1969. The anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing offers an opportunity to have a look at the moon, Earth’s satellite, and closest celestial body, from an artistic, scientific, technological and cultural point of view. Paris and the greater Paris area are offering a host of exhibitions this summer season as well as permanent exhibitions devoted to the moon and more broadly space.
The Grand Palais is hosting an exhaustive exhibition in Paris on the moon running through to July 22nd. The show aims to study, present and celebrate the long history that links humans to the moon through artworks and objects that embody the visions and emotions it has inspired. The five-part exhibition offers a genuine journey to the moon which is both real and imaginary revealing artistic and scientific creations from Antiquity to the modern day. Early maps and drawings of the moon, its representation in legend and lore and masterpieces depicting the moon are all on show as well as the Omega Speedmaster watch, the first watch on the moon. The boutique of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux adjoining the exhibition is offering a host of moon-themed keepsakes. Meanwhile the saga of Omega and the moon will be played out in the house’s Parisian boutiques where you can also see its Speedmaster and Constellation watches.
Over at the Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie, carte blanche has been given to the artist Caroline Corbasson for the installation work Lunarama for the educational exhibition The Moon: 50 Years Later and Now? The installation work is a journey through a series of photographs evoking the surface of the moon but are actually images of a piece of a meteorite from the moon photographed through an electronic microscope.
For a real planetary and outer space experience the Palais de la Découverte offers an authentic planetarium nestled beneath a cupola that is 15 meters in diameter. In the center is a star-filled night of an exceptional quality. Galactic and extragalactic objects visible to the naked eye can be observed along with celestial phenomena in the past and the future. The highly educational planetarium shows last 45 minutes and offer an excellent initiation into astronomy.
You can also enjoy a journey into space at the Musée de l’air et de l’espace with its permanent exhibitions devoted to aeronautics and the space adventure. Of note is the hall devoted to space exploration, the area devoted to the Ariane rocket launchers and a planetarium. The museum also houses a restaurant, l’hélice, with a starry ambiance.
Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie 30 avenue Corentin Cariou (19th) 01 40 05 80 00
Galeries nationales du Grand Palais Square Jean Perrin (8th) 01 40 13 48 00
Musée de l’air et de l’espace Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget, 3 esplanade de l’air et de l’espace, 93352 Le Bourget 01 49 92 70 00 Omega 12 rue de Sèvres (7e), 01 45 44 11 34 35 bd des Capucines (9e), 01 40 15 12 20
Palais de la Découverte Av Franklin Delano Roosevelt (8e) 01 56 43 20 20