Museum of Arts et Métiers

The Musee des Arts et Metiers was founded in 1794 by the abbot Henri Gregoire as a teaching institution and is one of the oldest technology museums in the world. It occupies the former abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs from the eleventh and twelfth centuries - the Romanesque church and Gothic refectory are part of the route. More than 80,000 original objects trace the history of invention from early modern mechanics to computing. Highlights include the original Foucault pendulum of 1851, with which Leon Foucault demonstrated the Earth's rotation, Clement Ader's Avion III, the bronze working model of the Statue of Liberty in the courtyard and early Lumiere cameras. The heaviest pieces hang in the refectory hall.