Friday May 24 saw the first nocturne of Namur's cultural venues: the Nuit Blanche. The event brought together fifteen museum, cultural, heritage and scientific institutions, which opened their doors to the public from 6pm to midnight.
At the University of Namur, the Confluent des Savoirs, the research dissemination and awareness service, coordinated this event with a view to promoting and disseminating to the public our university's sometimes little-known collections and heritage. In all, over 300 people were able to meet researchers and technicians from the biology, physics and veterinary medicine departments, as well as the dome of the Antoine Thomas astronomical observatory.
The biology department presented its zoology collections, built up since the mid-19th century and progressively enriched. More than 2,500 different specimens now make up the didactic collection, whose scenography has been redesigned for the occasion.
The Antoine Thomas Astronomical Observatory once again opened its doors to the public for a tour of the dome and a presentation of astrophotography techniques through the "Objectif Etoile" exhibition produced by Confluent des Savoirs.
The veterinary medicine department offered the public the chance to discover its practical work room and its impressive collection of anatomical models and bones, as well as equestrian mannequins. Visitors were able to practice bone recognition by attempting to reproduce joints using X-rays.
The faculty of Science opened the doors of its four practical rooms and presented to the public the collection of over 200 didactic instruments from the chemistry and physics departments built up around the 1900s by Père Courtois.
This evening was rich in sharing and discovery and, we're sure, put stars in the eyes of young and old alike!