Since its foundation, the museum has been housed in the deserted priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs on the Rue Réaumur [fr] in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. Today the museum, which underwent major renovations in 1990, includes an additional building adjacent to the abbey, with larger objects remaining in the abbey itself.[2]
The museum presents seven different collections : Scientific Instruments, Materials, Energy, Mechanics, Construction, Communication, Transportation. In the former church of St-Martin-des-Champs Priory are displayed cars, planes, the Foucault Pendulum and some other monumental objects.[6]
Celestial sphere driven by a clock mechanism, circa 1580
Cultural references
The museum appears in literature as the scene of the climax of the 1988 novel Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, and is featured in the 2019 documentary film about the Statue of Liberty, Liberty: Mother of Exiles.
Transportation
The museum can be accessed by the Paris Métro station Arts et Métiers. (The museum's entrance is at the corner of Rue Réaumur and Rue Vaucanson.)
^Missions et activités, Paris, Musée des arts et métiers, 2010.
^Benjamin Poupin et Sylvie Maillard, « Les Arts et Métiers : visite aux réserves », Musée des arts et métiers, La Revue, No. 45, février 2005; Élise Picard, Les Réserves, base stratégique du musée, Musée des arts et métiers, la revue, 1996.