Paris's Musée de l’Homme (Museum of Mankind) is open once again after closing for renovation works between 2009 and 2015. Visitors to the museum can now do much more than immerse themselves in human history – they are taken on a journey to discover who we are. But this surprising approach is not necessarily that experimental. This fun day out makes it possible to (re)discover mankind in all its diversity.
It was Paul Rivet who came up with the idea for the Musée de l’Homme, a research museum housed in the Passy wing of the Palais de Chaillot, which has stood opposite the Eiffel Tower since 1938. This army doctor, ethnologist and keen globetrotter was especially curious about mankind. His aim? To try and understand humanity by exploring its many biological, social, philosophical and cultural facets.
His studies and accounts also served as inspiration for several of cartoonist Hergé's Tintin adventures, including the Temple of the Sun and the Broken Ear. There are no comics on display at the museum, but it does offer a host of original experiences for a one-of-a-kind visit.
Awakening the senses and sparking the imagination
Explore a Mongolian yurt, smell rice-based preparations from around the globe and listen to thirty different dialects, from Breton to Cantonese, at the wall of (resin) tongues. A whole variety of curiosities takes visitors around the world without setting foot outside the museum.
As well as travelling around the globe, visitors can expect an incredible journey into the past. They can shake hands with a Neanderthal man or a Homo sapiens, follow in the footprints of an Australopithecus, or smell the scent of a prehistoric fire from the entrance to a cave.
The museum tells the history of humanity while attempting to decipher it. Over 150 researchers are devoted to this task. At the centre of the 16,000 m2 museum is a centre dedicated to research, learning, training and resources concerning the evolution of our species – the only concept of its kind in Europe.
These scientists are looking to answer three questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we heading? The answers aren't set in stone. Humans must learn to adapt in order to create the world of tomorrow, no matter what their geographical location, roots or customs. That is also the message conveyed by the newly renovated Musée de l’Homme.
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