La Cite des Sciences et de L'lndustrie - Paris

The first thing you have to do is to find out when each session starts. We were unaware that there were time restrictions and just bought tickets to find out we only had an hour and a half left. We went to the 5-12 kids section and immediately my son ran to the closest thing at hand. Everything is in French and English and hands-on. It was very busy and some activities we could not do. They even have a greenhouse with beautiful butterflies everywhere, you just have to be careful when leaving as one may be perched on your shoulder. Luckily we were able to return to the greenhouse and put it back before it flew away. Some of the kids were very pushy and no adult was around them so it is best if you keep an eye on your child so they get their turn. There was one machine that let you create a cutout to make a box by folding it in certain ways but some of the adults there seemed to be making several designs, making it impossible to get your design printed. It may be best to go there first if you want to do this activity. The area was also very popular and my son's favorite. They even have live ant colonies and a section dedicated to how a TV studio works including a green screen, weather backdrops, cameras, and specialty cameras and a switcher.
The closest metro station is the Porte de la Villette on the Metro 7, someone advised us to take a different metro (I think the 5) and it was quiet a walk just to get to the entrance (at least in the rain). When we went the hours were Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sundays 10am to 7pm.
This was a perfect activity to do in the winter time when it was raining outside.
There were several other things that could be done there but we did not have a chance.

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