On Tuesday, April 28, Explora Provence was inaugurated on the Aix-Marseille-Provence campus.
Explora Provence is a programme that promotes scientific culture to a wide audience of families and schools. Currently based in the heart of the Gardanne campus, it will move in 2027 to the future SPOT building.
Last March, Estelle Nakul, head of Explora Provence, spoke to us about the future programming and roll-out of this scientific culture outreach programme led by La Rotonde. As France’s second CCSTI (Centre for Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture), La Rotonde welcomes more than 60,000 visitors every year. Based in Saint-Étienne, the scientific culture centre has expanded to Gardanne to bring science to life in a new way in the Sud region.
The inauguration was an opportunity to highlight Explora’s work in favour of social diversity and sharing. Workshops were offered to the first visitors, with a programme of: handling, testing and understanding.
The aim of Explora Provence is to inspire a desire to understand science. In the three weeks since opening, 160 people have come to explore this experimental space and, in the short term, we expect more than 2,500 visitors per year.
The initial programming is currently aimed at the general public from age 6, schools and leisure centres, with workshops and events both on and off-site. We hope to offer workshops for younger children, from age 3, by the end of 2026. When Explora Provence moves into the SPOT building, we will be able to expand our range of workshops and events, as well as offer interactive exhibitions.Estelle Nakul, March 2026
Explora Provence is an I-NOVMICRO project (an innovation programme to develop and promote the microelectronics and electronics training sector in the Sud region) supported by the Sud Region, the City of Gardanne, the Aix-Marseille Metropolis and the Bouches-du-Rhône Department.
