Science Festival 2026 explores the flavours of science
The theme of the 2026 edition of the science festival is “Scientific flavours”, an opportunity to celebrate all the scientific aspects of cooking, taste and food.
The year 2026 marks the centenary of the creation of the Michelin star, the international symbol of gastronomy, as well as the bicentenary of the publication of the pioneering book on the subject: Physiologie du goût (Physiology of taste), by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. By linking the sense of taste to the biological functioning of the human body and its cognitive perceptions, the book brings together science, everyday practices and philosophy, and is one of the seminal texts of French gastronomy.
Today, food is a crucial focus of major public health issues and raises significant environmental questions, from the resilience of agricultural systems to the preservation of biodiversity. It was against this backdrop that, on 11 February 2026, the Government presented the National Strategy for Food, Nutrition and Climate (SNANC - Stratégie nationale pour l’alimentation, la nutrition et le climat), with the aim of achieving healthier, more sustainable and locally produced food for all citizens by 2030.
These issues were also of particular interest at the international One Health summit held in Lyon in April 2026. The “One Health” approach is based on a consensus that human health, animal health and the health of ecosystems are closely interdependent. Sustainable food systems will be a major focus of the forum.
The 2026 Fête de la science could take the form of a major culinary laboratory, inviting the public to discover the many scientific facets of food through a programme of interactive, entertaining events.
This universal and festive theme is also an invitation to inculcate a taste for science for as many people as possible.
Science festival 2017 in Orléans.
© BRGM – Aurore Lhomme
BRGM Open Days in Orléans, 10 and 11 October 2026: a free event open to everyone
Two days of workshops, hands-on activities and visits to laboratories – to sharpen your appetite for all the sciences.
Each year, the Science Village takes place at a key venue in the Loiret region, and it is now BRGM's turn, alternating with its partners on the Orléans campus, to open its doors to you on 10 and 11 October 2026.
To mark the occasion, the French institution specialised in ground and subsurface issues is opening its doors in style!
The programme for this 35th edition includes inviting the public to visit numerous BRGM laboratories and hosting all the research players in the département: research institutions (CNRS, INRAE, INRAP, etc.), laboratories at the University of Orléans, associations and learned societies. All of them will be on hand to offer workshops, scientific experiments and demonstrations for the whole family. For teenagers and their parents, it will also be an opportunity to meet the teams and researchers and, why not, to get a taste of what it's like to work in research.
See you at 3 Avenue Claude-Guillemin, in Orléans-la-Source, from 10 am to 6 pm!
Programme :
Discovery Trails
- Professor Caillou’s adventure trail (in booklet form and online) with pebble-shaped sweets handed out to the winners
- Speed-searching
- Exhibitions on women in science
Environmental Test Centre (hall)
- Tour of BRGM's Prime and Plat’Inn platforms
- Experiments, quizzes and models on pollution control
- Cookie-mining workshop to explore the process of separating valuable minerals from rock
Laboratories
- Exhibition on alabaster
- Soil decontamination game
- Chemistry workshop: become an apprentice scientist!
- A digital “serious game” that lets you step into the shoes of a researcher
- Isotope fractioning in the kitchen
Water
- Game: Blue Gold Digger
- Board game on water
- Water bar
- Workshops on groundwater
- Piezometer workshop
- An interactive talk about water, aimed at young children as well as adults (separate sessions)
Mineral resources – geology
- A tour of the minerals gallery
- Workshop on “Mineral Resources in Everyday Life”
- Thin-section microscopy
- A visit to Professor Caillou’s office + photo session
- Exhibition about Mayotte, exploring the formation of the underwater volcano
- Volcano workshop
- Tour of the Geotheque (rock repository) and the Carotheque (core sample repository)
- Board game on geology (Geoloquiz)
- Exploration workshop
- Pet Rocks Workshop
- Fossil-hunting workshop
- “Bring Your Own Stone” workshop
- Photo shoot with dinosaurs
- Stratigraphic totem
- Presentation of the French Mineral Resources Inventory
- The time-line workshop (le fil du temps)
Post-mining
- Board game – Memory
- A souvenir photo to imagine what it was like to be a miner
- Miners’ sweets
- Virtual reality experiences of post-mining activities
Risks
- Earthquake escape game
- Kapla and Lego workshops on earthquakes
- Board game on coastal areas (Littoquiz)
- Model of ocean swell
- Map of the coastline
- Virtual reality to explore a cavity in Orléans
- Demonstration of 3D mapping of underground cavities
- Model of rockfalls
Energy
- Discover geothermal energy and visit the experimental facility
- Lego models on geothermal energy
- Model + game about geothermal drilling
- Presentation of products made using geothermal energy
- Interventions in the carbon cycle
- Model for CO₂ storage
- Model of hydrogen production
- A hydrogen-themed Cluedo, with fizzy sweets as a prize
Geophysics
- Ground-based geophysical surveys (seismic, electrical)
- Models and experiments
BRGM: a partner of the event nationwide
BRGM teams will also be involved in the Science Festival in Paris and across the different regions.
Science Festival in Paris, Musée des Arts et Métiers, 3 and 4 October
360 years after its founding, the Musée des Arts et Métiers is being transformed into a vast laboratory of experiments and discoveries, inviting you to explore the latest scientific and technical advances through all your senses.
And with the BRGM:
Cookie workshop: become an expert in ore processing!
The cookie workshop aims to explain the initial stages of ore processing, which enable the separation of the particles of interest (lithium, copper) contained within the rock. Visitors will need to retrieve as many chocolate chips (particles containing lithium and copper) as possible from a cookie (the ore), whilst ensuring as little dough as possible sticks to the chocolate chips. So, will you be able to do it?
Workshop open to all, Saturday and Sunday.
Musée des Arts et Métiers, 60 Rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris
University of Lille Science Festival, 8–11 October
To mark the Fête de la Science in Lille, the BRGM will be taking part in this year’s event, organised by the University of Lille. A science trail will be set up at the Gymnase. Through fun and educational science workshops, you’ll have the chance to chat with researchers about the fascinating world of taste.
And the BRGM is joining forces with LASIRE (University of Lille) to present the activity ‘The Taste of Water’. Aimed at schoolchildren on 8 and 9 October, and then at families.
Does the water we drink have a taste? What influences it, and how does water alter our perception of the taste of certain foods? Follow the journey of water, from the groundwater table to our tap, and discover the stages that make it drinkable. Explore how its mineral content affects edible plants, taste different types of water and identify their characteristics through colourimetric experiments.
Gymnase Sébastopol, 7 Pl. Sébastopol, 59000 Lille
Science Village – Réunion, 6 October
To kick off the 2026 Science Festival, the university campus is being transformed into a Science Village.
Across the university’s various campuses – at the Tampon Campus on Friday 2 October and at the Moufia Campus on 6 October – the BRGM is taking part in the Science Village, which brings together researchers, science communicators, organisations, artists and events to explore intelligence in all its forms: human, animal, artificial, plant and collective. Workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions and discussions will form the backbone of the festivities.
Through a range of activities organised by the BRGM teams, explore the geological treasures of Réunion and discover how they shape the flavours and unique character of its terroir. On the programme: interactive workshops on natural hazards and the coastline, a game exploring Réunion’s terroir shaped by geology, and a poster exhibition showcasing the BRGM’s activities.
Université de La Réunion - Campus du Moufia, 15 Avenue René Cassin 97715 Sainte-Clotilde
Science Village – Gardanne, 8–10 October
The Gardanne Science Village returns from Thursday 8 October to Saturday 10 October. Co-organised by the Gardanne Media Library and La Rotonde, the Centre for Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture at Mines-Saint-Étienne – Aix-Marseille Provence Campus, the event features a variety of stands and activities open to all, designed to help us better understand and live more fully in the world around us.
And this year, the BRGM is also taking part in the Science Village with its own stand, from Thursday 8 October to Friday 9 October.
On the programme:
- Rock Game: this game will teach you how to recognise different rocks and fossils. To do so, you’ll need to use almost all your senses: sight, touch and sometimes even smell! It will introduce you to the exceptional rock heritage of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and give children an introduction to geology. What? The region was under the sea a few million years ago? But how come we find volcanic rocks here?
- Mining Game: this board game will take children on a journey to discover the fascinating world of mining and miners. Question by question, the children will move across the board and discover the historical and industrial heritage of the Gardanne region
- Virtual underground tour: immerse yourself in the depths of the earth within a former mining tunnel or underground quarries. The experience consists of two parts: watching a video on the acquisition and processing of 3D data underground (approximately 5 minutes), followed by a virtual tour either underground or on the surface above the voids: taking turns, each equipped with a 3D mouse, you will be able to navigate within the 3D point cloud. This activity offers a fun way to understand the existence of underground voids and the associated issues, as well as an innovative technique for acquiring geometric data using a portable laser scanner.
Gardanne Science Village, École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, Georges Charpak Campus, 880 route de Mimet, 13120 Gardanne