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Jun 20, 2013, 2:47am

Any Port in a Storm :: Compass Points :: Europe :: Paris :: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution

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kerouac2
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Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Thread Started on Nov 6, 2010, 12:23pm »

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I prefer to leave coverage of the main tourist attractions to the tourists, because they do a fantastic job of seeking out new angles and look upon these places with a wonderment that I have mostly lost. I pretty much see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe or Sacré Coeur each and every day (at least from a distance), so they have been transformed into fixtures for me rather than sources of fascination.

It isn't the same with places I rarely go, and as a non-parent, the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution is one of them. It is a must for anyone with children in France as well as being one of the most obligatory treks imaginable for school groups. I think I went the last time maybe about 8 years ago, so I felt I was due for a return visit, even more so because my ticket for the botanical hothouses entitled me to a discount for any other sites of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle.

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Even if the building were empty, it would still be fantastic. I was able to see the inside more or less in ruins in the early 1990's. It had been closed since 1966 because it was falling apart due to war damage that had never been repaired. President Mitterrand decided to take action in 1991 and for one brief weekend, there was an incredible sound and light show. People could enter and stand on one of the side galleries while colored spotlights animated the dusty animals with jungle noises and windows would light up as the history of the museum was told. (Only the French...)

Then the whole place was closed up for a complete renovation. It reopened in 1994. The entrance is on the left side of the building now.

There is no "intelligent design" in this place -- It is 100% evolution, all to the glory of Mendel and Darwin.

The ground level is devoted mostly to sea creatures -- whale skeletons and naturalized fish.

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I'm sorry, but I'm as thrilled as a little kid in such places, although I am even more thrilled when I am able to go when it isn't full of little kids.

Sea animals are fine, but I am always impatient to get to the fluffy, furry stuff.

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The next level up is where you start getting down to business.

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I'm afraid they can't claim that no animals were harmed in the creation of this museum. But they don't seem to hold it against us.

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(to be continued)

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tod2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #1 on Nov 6, 2010, 2:59pm »

Great shots and lovely angles Kerouac! I can't get over how realisticly alive the animals seem - especially that one of the buck up close.

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kerouac2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #2 on Nov 6, 2010, 4:54pm »

The MNHN has the largest collection of insects in the world --> more than 100 million specimens

. 15 million are still waiting to be fully studied. I remember going to a special exhibition many years ago which displayed insects. Wow, you really had to squint to see a lot them. I remember learning that fleas are among the only serial rapists of the animal world. Those poor lady fleas!

Anyway, in the Grande Galerie, there are a few insect interludes, but generally creatures big enough for you to appreciate.

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I went up another level. It's impossible not to keep looking at the African parade as you ascend.

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Other animals are always awaiting you in any case.

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But I knew that what I wanted to see again at the next level was a side gallery that had impressed me immensely in the past -- the gallery of extinct and nearly extinct animals.

The dodo greets you at the entrance. It is perhaps the most cruelly exterminated animal in history, and it was done so fast that there is not even a single stuffed example preserved. The gallery can only present a plaster cast, made from a dead dodo hundreds of years ago.

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The gallery of extinction is somber and dark (yes, I know that is a bit redundant, but there is a slight nuance), so you'll have to excuse the quality of the photos. Digital cameras work miracles in dark places where you can't use a flash, but they are only partial miracles.

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Oh well, maybe the animals had better luck on other planets.

I exited and continued to wander around. This was not really a scientific visit for me, just visual. Yes, I am often a superficial person.

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If anybody goes with science in mind, I can assure you that there are a million audiovisual displays, information cards, presentation of the evolution of pollution and many other things. I can't really compare with the natural history museums of most other countries, but I'm pretty sure that this one ranks among the best.

For people who want to see something else in the neighbourhood as well, I will point out that it is right next door to the Paris mosque (on the left).

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« Last Edit: Nov 6, 2010, 5:41pm by kerouac2 »

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Askar
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #3 on Nov 6, 2010, 5:31pm »

Superb!
I'm ashamed I've never visited this museum.
I put it on the top of my list for my next visit to Paris.

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bjd
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #4 on Nov 6, 2010, 5:42pm »

We went to see it when it was first reopened. Looks like it's time for another visit.

And a few years ago, I met with some American friends in Paris. They were there with kids aged about 10 and 13. I suggested they take them to this museum, but they preferred dragging them around the Louvre.

« Last Edit: Nov 6, 2010, 5:44pm by bjd »

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lagatta
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #5 on Nov 7, 2010, 12:31pm »

I've never been there either - I have been to the Mosque (and its lovely Moorish tearoom), Le Jardin des plantes and L'Institut du Monde arabe in the neighbourhood. A friend of mine was a professor at Jussieu (she is retired now) so I visited the area rather often. Jussieu campus is a brutalist horror, oddly set in such a pleasant neighbourhood.

bjd, especially if your American friends live in the Bible Belt!

I confess that my modern sensibilities are a bit upset by most of those animals being shot or trapped to be exhibits or "specimens", but remember being taken to museums with such exhibits as a small child. I really liked natural history.

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tod2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #6 on Nov 7, 2010, 1:33pm »

Fantastic Kerouac! A definite for next trip

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kerouac2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #7 on Nov 7, 2010, 4:01pm »

Nov 7, 2010, 12:31pm, lagatta wrote:

I confess that my modern sensibilities are a bit upset by most of those animals being shot or trapped to be exhibits or "specimens", but remember being taken to museums with such exhibits as a small child. I really liked natural history.

Well, one good thing to know is that most if not all of the specimens are the same ones as 80 or so years ago. In fact, leaning to look closely at some of the hides, I could see that they have undergone a lot of repairs over the years.

I think that some of the only ones done in recent years may have been the giant squids and such, because they did not have the technology to naturalize squisy boneless things back then.

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bjd
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #8 on Nov 7, 2010, 4:50pm »

bjd, especially if your American friends live in the Bible Belt!

No -- I don't have friends like that. They are Jewish from NYC.

The Natural History Museum in Toulouse was renovated and reopened a year or two ago. It used to be full of specimens with little hand-written cards giving the name. And rather moth-eaten animals. But it was fun just because it was rather old-fashioned. I haven't been to the new version, but I imagine it's full of interactive things.

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bixaorellana
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #9 on Sept 30, 2011, 7:07pm »

To you anyporters planning trips to Paris, this would be a great place to include in your to-do list.

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kerouac2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #10 on Sept 30, 2011, 8:16pm »

I expect to return there in December, because when my brother came with his wife the last time, he dragged (?) her to the big art museums (Louvre, Orsay) and she said later, "next time I'm going to the natural history museum."

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nycgirl7664
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #11 on Oct 5, 2011, 2:22am »

I have to admit, I'm pretty spoiled by the Museum of Natural History here, but this place looks spectacular! The display of extinct and endangered animals is especially interesting, albeit saddening.

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kerouac2
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #12 on Mar 25, 2013, 7:32am »

Since the weather has been so miserable, I'll bring this up again as an idea for anybody in town who wants to stay warm.

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lola
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Re: Paris: la Grande Galerie de l'Evolution
« Reply #13 on Mar 26, 2013, 12:34am »

Cool place. Love the design.

.

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