Musée des Arts et Métiers

The Musée des Arts et Métiers is the oldest science and technology museum in Europe.  Founded in the late 1700 to collect machines, tools and models.  It's been housed since it was established in a medieval church and priory in the Marais.  A beautiful building and our favorite museum in Paris.  

Ned attempting to operate a machine entirely above his pay grade.

An early, early navigational tool.  Sorry, we forgot exactly when it was made or where but it was among the dozens of ancient tools in the museum which illustrate the expanse of scientific history.

Some kind of robot floor mopper or something, it looks cool but has a really mundane job.

Melissa is exploring the lunar surface along with her buddy, the Robot Lama (Lavochkin Alcatel Model Autonomous,) who is probably better equipped for the task.

An 18th Century glass mold for an ornate square bottle:

Ever wondered what one of those pesky space shuttle heat tiles looked like? Well...voila!

Melis goes up the stairs and underneath an unsuccessful attempt at a flying machine which was modeled after the flight of a bat.  It was quite an impressive failure though.

Time for lunch in the museum courtyard called a toutes vapeurs.  We have been here before and the menu was just as incomprehensible as before with inventive dishes and pseudo scientific descriptions (in French).

After lunch, it was off to the engine room with tons of cross sectioned motors.  It was hard for Ned to leave this one.

All those kilotons of machinery and heavy stuff was transported to their respective spots via a metal track system that was built into the wood floors.

Here's a small dolly left on the track to show you how it was done.

In the 19th Century,  people were into all kinds of mechanical robot toys and they even made mechanical paintings which had clockworks behind them to move the various painted elements on the front.  Here's a video which illustrates how it works:

A favorite section devoted to photography and the moving image:

Here's a model of Telstar satellite from 1962. A great addition to the mod looking television sets and cameras, many of which date back to the 1930's!  It was clearly the inspiration for R2D2.

Here are some earlier flying machines hung from the ceiling of the Saint Martin-des-Champs abbey, the original structure devoted to the museum from its inception.

Whoa, look out below! Pretty scary stuff to stare down the 30 meters or so to the ground through the glass floor or over the railing.  There were various ancient automobiles parked on the levels alongside aeroplanes within the abbey section of the museum.

Back on the street, slowly making our way home and we make another great discovery.
Panaché, like a French shandy, has become a favorite.  So light and refreshing, a far as alcohol goes, it feels totally innocuous but is probably still illegal to consume in public.

Et fin, a couple of sweets.  One is a creme de cassis floral tart, very light and perfume-y.  The eclair, had a passionfruit creme and chocolate on top.  Bonsoir mes amis.