Scientific Culture

La Rotonde

The Centre for Scientific, Technical, and Industrial Culture at Mines Saint-Étienne

“Science for everyone, everywhere – that is our motivation!”

A 25-Year Commitment to Science Mediation for All

Since 1999, La Rotonde has been actively promoting science engagement and interaction through a wide range of initiatives.
As a laboratory of ideas and experimentation, it drives a science mediation project that connects with diverse audiences. Its guiding principles: discover, experiment, create, learn, interact, share, question, and cultivate an essential value—curiosity.

Making Science Accessible to All

Whether you visit with family, a class, friends, a group, or alone, La Rotonde welcomes you for an enriching experience, guided by passionate science mediators. Here, science mediation is much more than simple guidance—it is a commitment to quality engagement, designed to help you explore, understand, and interact with the world around us.

Our spaces are open to all, immersing visitors in today’s challenges and opportunities, while inviting them to imagine and shape the world of tomorrow.

At La Rotonde, you become an active participant in your discoveries: you develop critical thinking, question, experiment, engage, explore, and open yourself to new perspectives. Here, making mistakes is part of the learning process—each error is an opportunity to analyse, debate, and grow.

Wonder, surprises, and dialogue are at the heart of our approach, all within a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, fueled by boundless curiosity.

Our Key Initiatives

La Rotonde offers a wide range of activities to bring science closer to the public:

• Management and facilitation of three cultural venues: Soucoupe (exhibition and events space) and Explora (scientific experimentation space) in Saint-Étienne and Gardanne.
• Creation of scientific culture resources: Exhibitions, digital books, magazines, videos, educational kits, and more
• Popular science mediation events: European Researchers’ Night, Fête de la Science, and other major public engagements
• Citizen engagement and innovative science debates.
• Support for researchers in their science and society-related projects

We are also committed to strengthening our connections with young people, local communities, schools, educational and research institutions, associations, cultural organisations, and businesses to foster a meaningful dialogue on science and its impact on society.

Mediation, Creation, and Cooperation

Three Main Focus Areas

With its national expertise in science education, La Rotonde plays a key role in advancing scientific culture, both locally and beyond.

As a science mediation centre, La Rotonde offers multiple spaces where science meets the public:

• « Soucoupe »
  An exhibition and event space where visitors can discover and interact with scientific content.
• Explora
  A place to experiment, imagine, and create, designed for hands-on science learning.
• “Beyond the Walls” (« Hors les Murs »)
  La Rotonde brings science to the public, ensuring greater accessibility across different regions.
• Explora Provence
  An active presence at the heart of the Aix-Marseille Provence campus to support outreach projects led by engineering students and researchers.

La Rotonde as a Centre for Creation: Committed to imagining and developing scientific culture resources, La Rotonde contributes to national and international networks by creating exhibitions, escape games, books, digital resources, educational kits, and workshops.

La Rotonde as a Centre for Cooperation: Encouraging collaborations and interdisciplinary approaches, La Rotonde fosters cross-sector interactions between culture, industry, higher education, tourism, research, education, and businesses, bridging different worlds to enrich perspectives and innovation.

An Inclusive and Committed Approach

La Rotonde is more than just a science culture centre—it is a space where everyone can explore the world, cultivate curiosity, and better understand the complexities of our society through science.
We believe in empowering individuals, ensuring that science is accessible, understandable, and inspiring for all.

At La Rotonde, science is an adventure to be shared!

La Rotonde in figures

Testimonials

Contacts