Presentation at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie (Paris), from Octobre 14, 2025 to July 12, 2026
Gardening
Ready to uncover the science behind gardening?
Gardening — designing and cultivating a patch of nature — is a profoundly human activity. Whether we garden to relax, to contemplate, to grow food, or to share moments together, every gesture stems from observation, experimentation, and learning — often without fully understanding the living processes at play.
The exhibition Gardening invites visitors to reconnect with non-human life while exploring their own relationship with nature.
As our societies face unprecedented environmental, social, and health challenges, what does it mean to “garden” in the 21st century?
Explore the six garden-chapters, each reflecting a unique challenge of today’s world
Like a garden that gradually reveals itself as you wander through it, the exhibition unfolds step by step through six “garden-chapters,” each exploring a distinct ecosystem: the family allotment, the flower garden, the community garden, the healing garden, the spontaneous garden, and the adaptable garden.
Together, they reflect the diversity of contemporary gardening practices and the issues they embody.
Two types of plots to discover in each garden
- a sensory plot, where visitors experience the garden through perception and emotion;
- an experimental plot, offering scientific content and hands-on activities to better understand the impacts and benefits of gardening.
Three complementary approaches
- botany and microbiology,
- gardening practices,
- sociological reflections.
Together, they invite visitors to rediscover the garden as a place of science, sharing, and ecological awareness.
A productive space designed for subsistence and, sometimes, self-sufficiency.
A haven of biodiversity, home to a wide variety of plants and insects.
An urban gardening space fostering social connections and local learning.
A place where therapeutic plants and garden-based care practices come together.
A space where observation takes precedence and nature is free to express itself.
A model of water efficiency designed for arid and warm climates.
Must-see features:
- The six sensory huts, immersive spaces at the heart of each garden.
- The robot lawn mower, a humorous and sarcastic audio piece about our gardening habits.
- Interactive experiments allowing visitors to manipulate, observe, and compare the effects of gardening on living organisms.
- Audiovisual and interactive displays exploring the ecological and social challenges of today’s gardens.