Meeting point: Lausanne Train Station (Main Hall) at 06:00 (train leaves at 06:23 sharp)

Transport: by train

Number of participants: 12

Registration fee: € 220 (includes transport, 1 hotel night and most meals)

Details: As this trip is going to France, participants need to bring a valid ID and be in possession of an appropriate visa if required. Wear comfortable shoes for walking.

Organizer: The French Association of Science Journalists AJSPI, Audrey Mikaëlian (a_mikaelian@yahoo.fr)

Sponsors: CNRS

NOTE: Start and end times given for this field trip are the times when the trip departs from and returns to Lausanne Main Station.

No need to present Paris, city Light, city of art and culture. But did you know that Paris is also at the forefront of science and research related to the arts? On this trip, we invite you to visit the research laboratory of the museums of France. It is located in the basement of the Louvre and works on the analysis and restoration of art works. We will also go to the IRCAM-Center Pompidou, a research center specialized in sound dedicated to to contribute, through science and technology, to the renewal of musical expression.

Finally, like all major Western cities, Paris is facing the problem of air pollution. The CNRS has set up a unique system for measuring pollution in a captive airship in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower.

On Saturday afternoon you will be free to enjoy shopping or visiting Paris on your own.

NOTE: Start and end times given for this field trip are the times when the trip departs from and returns to Lausanne Main Station.

Provisional programme:

Day 1

6:23 am: departure from Lausanne

10:03 am: arrival in Paris

10:30 am: visit to the Centre for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF) in the Louvre museum

The C2RMF’s mission is to implement, in liaison with curators, the policy of research, preventive conservation and restoration of items held in the collections of more than 1,200 museums across France. The research centre’s two key activities focus on the study, research and documentation of materials used in art works and artefacts, as well as the implementation of strategies for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.

1 pm: lunch (and a 15-minute walk)

2:30 pm: visit to the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM)

IRCAM is one of the world’s largest public research centres dedicated to musical creation and scientific research. Its fundamental mission is to spark energetic interactions between scientific research, technological development and contemporary musical creation. One of the major challenges addressed by IRCAM is to contribute, through science and technology, to the renewal of musical expression.

5 pm: private visit to the Pompidou centre (cultural activity)

7 pm: time off at the hotel

8 pm: (possibly) diner cruise on the Seine

Day 2

10 am: visit to the Paris balloon: a unique air quality awareness tool and major tourist attraction.

A measuring device of unprecedented precision is permanently embedded in a large helium-filled balloon over Paris. Capable of both counting and identifying particles, the Paris balloon focuses on the smaller ones: ultrafine particles less than 1 micrometre (PM1). Since March 2018, the device has been reinforced by new measuring instruments such as a LIDAR, which provides a 3D mapping of the fine particles in sky over Paris.

On sunny days, scientific flights are conducted at an altitude of 300 metres, making it possible to carry out studies on air quality at very different heights and thereby  deepen the analyses. Weather permitting, we will go with them!

Free time.

5:57 pm: departure for Lausanne

9:52 pm: arrival in Lausanne