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Maxime Brochier
Discoveries
Discoveries A bit of History
Musée des Confluences
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Jean-Pierre Poupon - arcom design
By Florence
Published on 05/12/2024
For ten years already now, the iconic musée des Confluences has stood proudly between the Rhône and the Saône Rivers, offering a splendid sight to visitors arriving from the south.
Located at the tip of the Presqu’île (peninsula), at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, the “Crystal Cloud” designed by the Austrian architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l) au made big waves when it was erected in 2014. Ten years on, the steel and glass structure in a deconstructivist style has become one of Lyon’s most striking landmarks and the leading museum in the Auvergne-Rhône- Alpes region, attracting 650,000 visitors every year! It owes its success to the richness of its programme, focussed on the history and evolution of the living world, humanity and knowledge.
The Musée des Confluences was originally designed to house the naturalist and ethnographic collections of closed museums, including the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle – Guimet, in Lyon’s 6th district, the colonial museum and the museum of pontifical missionary works. It has since developed an outstanding interactive and fun experience, in both its temporary and permanent exhibition trails. Covering some 3000 sq. m, the permanent exhibition is home to the famous Choulans mammoth, a whale skeleton and a model of the Sputnik 2 spacecraft.
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Musée des Confluences - Antoine Merlet
To celebrate its first decennial anniversary, the museum will inaugurate a new 350-sq. m permanent exhibition space: the Nuage des Petits (Children’s Cloud). Located on the third floor, this new space will be devoted to toddlers aged 2 to 6, who will be invited to experiment with fragility and mutual aid through the adventures of Roky the Pebble, the hero of a special opening exhibition entitled Fragile.
Anniversary week-end
On the 21st and 22nd of December, the Musée des Confluences will offer free admission from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm for a celebratory weekend. The programme will include a show by the company Volt Expérience on the theme of oceans, which will roam throughout the museum, and an art installation by Aérosculpture in the Crystal.
Other festivities have been scheduled regularly until the 15th of June.
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Maxime Brochier
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