My Favorite Museum in Paris

I took the bus today to my favorite museum in Paris, the wonderful and interesting Musee des Arts and Metiers in the Marais.  The fact that it's my favorite museum probably proves that deep down (or maybe not so deep down) I'm a real nerd, as the museum is completely dedicated to the history of science and technology.  The museum contains the collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, which was founded in 1794.  It is situated in the in an old abby, Saint-Martin-des-Champs, which provides a beautiful setting for the exhibits.  The exhibits themselves are often fascinating, sometimes beautiful, and sometimes laugh-inducing.  Best of all, the museum seems to be (from my admittedly limited experience) underused, which makes visiting the museum even more pleasant, as you don't have to fight crowds as is the case in most museums in Paris.

I've posted a bunch of pictures from my visit here, which I encourage you to view.  Some of the more interesting parts of the museum are the large Foucault's Pendulum located in the main cathedral:



The interesting exhibits in juxtaposition at the other end of the same space:



The beautiful interior of the building itself:



Old, old important artifacts, like this one, Volta's first battery:



Beautiful ones, like this early microscope:



And finally, as I said, laugh-inducing ones, like this technological antique:



I came away thinking that in 50 years or so, the technology we think is cutting edge today will look just as dated and funny as the stuff in the museum. Time, it seems, marches on, whether we like it or not.