Museum
The Institut Pasteur opens its doors for the 2026 European Heritage Days
For the third year running, the museum is organizing the European Heritage Days at the Institut Pasteur. They will be held on Saturday September 19 and Sunday September 20, from 2 to 6pm. The theme for this year's event is Photographic Heritage, to mark the bicentennial of the invention of photography. This is a unique opportunity to showcase scientific imaging on campus both today and in the past.
Program
- Saturday and Sunday: campus tours presenting the Institut Pasteur's missions and heritage
- September 14 to 20: "Observing invisible life, from the 19th century to the present day" – exhibition in the atrium of the François Jacob building
This exhibition explores how photography became a crucial tool in understanding the living world. The development of microbiology went hand in hand with the evolution of photography and microscopy techniques. Drawing on the Institut Pasteur's heritage, the exhibition presents some key milestones in the history of photomicrography, from wet collodion glass plates dating from 1867 to the first microscopic image of HIV produced in 1983.
- Saturday and Sunday: take a deep dive into the infinitely small details of the living world at the Institut Pasteur with a visit to the Ultrastructural BioImaging and Photonic BioImaging facilities
At the Ultrastructural BioImaging facility, visitors will learn how electron microscopy reveals details of life that are invisible under a microscope. They will be shown how scientists prepare and photograph samples at atomic resolution and visualize the structure of infectious agents using state-of-the-art imaging technologies. They will also have an opportunity to chat to scientists about their different professions, from research to training up international scientists.
The Photonic BioImaging facility, which specializes in optical imaging, will show how we can observe cells being infected by viruses and bacteria in real time. The tour will introduce visitors to next-generation microscopes, visualization of host-pathogen interactions and therapeutic applications.
- Saturday and Sunday: an "Art & Science" tour with artists Lucien Murat and Cyrielle Gulacsy
For this year's European Heritage Days at the Institut Pasteur, the artists Cyrielle Gulacsy and Lucien Murat offer us a rare insight into soil life with Inframondes, an art-based research project carried out in conjunction with the team from the Molecular Diversity of Microbes group led by Aude Bernheim.
Lucien Murat sees microorganisms as creative partners. He painted a number of landscapes on natural-fiber canvases using organic pigments, then buried them underground for a month in different spots – including one at the Institut Pasteur. The richer the soil life, the more the painting decomposed, revealing the vitality of the invisible world through this process of destruction. Lucien then set to work patching up the decomposed paintings with wool, a process of repair that echoes bacterial defense mechanisms.
Cyrielle Gulacsy invites us to contemplate microscopic biodiversity. Her work is related to the participatory science project Science à la pelle developed by Aude Bernheim's unit. Using soil samples collected by citizens, the scientists were able to isolate new viruses and understand how bacteria defend themselves. The artist turns this scientific adventure into images, revealing the beauty of these invisible mechanisms.
- Saturday and Sunday: a stand supporting the restoration of the apartment that once belonged to Louis and Marie Pasteur, in partnership with the Fondation du Patrimoine
Slip on a virtual reality headset and take a virtual tour of the apartment where Louis and Marie Pasteur once lived, before finding out more about the project for the new Pasteur Museum from Fondation du Patrimoine volunteers.
- Saturday at 4.30pm in the Scientific Information Center: an exclusive performance by Lady Pipette
Yaëlle Wormser, also known as Lady Pipette, is a microbiologist and rapper with a passion for scientific outreach. This PhD student at the Institut Pasteur won the first jury prize in the 2026 national final of the "Three Minute Thesis" competition. On stage, she turns her tuberculosis research into an artistic performance that is both funny and informative, combining urban music with science communication to prove that research can make you dance as well as think.
- Sunday at 4pm in the auditorium of the François Jacob building: a lecture entitled "Observing invisible life from past to present"
Laurence Isnard, Head of the Museum, and Claire Pujol from Mitochondrial Biology laboratory will be giving a joint lecture about the historical development of photomicrography.
More details about the Institut Pasteur's program can be found on the Ministry of Culture website
The European Heritage Days attract thousands of visitors who are interested in going behind the scenes of famous institutions. Last year, some 1,150 people visited the Institut Pasteur over two afternoons. To make sure the event goes as smoothly as possible, the museum team is looking for volunteers who can help over one or two days. The hours spent volunteering can be taken as leave at another time. How to sign up Registration form to take part as a volunteer in the European Heritage Days at the Institut Pasteur If you have any questions, feel free to email emma.lepretre@pasteur.fr | ||