Experiences area

The Experiences area

The Experience area has been made to truly live the Pic du Midi scientific adventure.

Visitors are drawn into the world of the Pic du Midi over almost 500 m2 of exhibition space. They start their journey with a scientific adventure, then discover the Pic du Midi International Dark Sky Reserve and finish with the historical instruments and objects used at the Pic du Midi.

Through interactive experiences, digital media and immersive films, it's a unique way to get to know the Pic du Midi!

1. The scientific area

As soon as you cross the threshold, you enter a space that symbolises the scientific world of the Pic du Midi Observatory. On the walls, huge night-time visuals by photographer Jean-François Graffand show the Pic du Midi and its observatory under skies awash with stars. The 5 major scientific themes to which the Pic contributes are materialised in the form of 5 platforms floating in a chiaroscuro space. Conveying knowledge through wonder is the credo of these platforms.

At the centre of each platform, the public will discover a drawing that gradually unfolds to tell the story of the scientific theme. This "drawn story" approach offers a fun and aesthetic way of grasping the main points of each theme. After being told the story of a theme, visitors can try out the experiments and interactive features on each of the platforms.

2. The world of the International Dark Sky Reserve

In just a few steps, you can travel from the plains to the mountain peaks and discover the differences in lighting and sky quality between the city, the valley, the mountains and, of course, the Pic du Midi. All around these discs are the constellations of the northern hemisphere.

The stars are linked by poems and celestial aphorisms by great authors (Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, Saint-Exupéry, Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Hugo, Musset, Bruand...). Environment, contemplation and poetry combine to convey the values that drive the RICE du Pic du Midi.

3. The gallery of wonders

The last area is dedicated to the Observatory's treasures, whether scientific instruments, carrier bags or everyday objects from 140 years of history. Unique and exceptional items are on display, including Bernard Lyot's second coronograph, the Lunar Atlas of the Lunar Manchester Program and Ramond de Carbonnières' barometer rods. For several years now, an inventory of these objects has enabled us to create a 1st conservation collection of this material memory, an inventory that is still ongoing.