On Sunday, 4 October 2026, the Laboratory of Solid State Physics (LPS, CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay) in Orsay opened its doors to the public for the annual Science Festival (Fête de la Science). Visitors of all ages came to discover the physical phenomena that surround us through surprising experiments, hands-on workshops and conversations with scientists.
Discovering physics through hands-on experiments
The programme featured superconductivity and levitation, giant bubbles, quantum bits (qubits), vibrations and sound, electron microscopy, pressure and vacuum, and even the physics of cooking!
Visitors had the opportunity to observe, experiment, handle scientific equipment and talk with laboratory staff to better understand physical phenomena and discover the diversity of research conducted at LPS. It was a chance to show that physics can be surprising, engaging and accessible to everyone.
Where science meets art
This year’s festival also brought scientific research and artistic creation together through works by Fanny Rybak, Karine Bonneval and Milène Guermont, presented as part of “Résonances art-science Paris-Saclay”, under its sixth theme, “Être au son” (“Being in Sound”).
These artistic works invited visitors to explore the connections between perception, matter, vibrations and sound from a different perspective, offering an experience at the crossroads of science and art.
Thank you to everyone!
LPS warmly thanks all the visitors for their curiosity, enthusiasm and thoughtful questions, as well as all the laboratory staff, researchers, engineers and technicians who contributed to making this day a success.
Special thanks go to Emmanuelle Rio, Ismael Nimaga, Jérémie Sanchez, Jean-Denis Blazit, Jean-Pierre Dalac, Thibault Lamy, Eric Marius, Khayam Amir Bakhtiar, Veronika Kysil along with everyone who helped make this event possible.
We look forward to welcoming visitors again at future events and continuing to explore physics and scientific research together!