Conceived by Jean Perrin in 1934, the Palais de la découverte was created in 1937 to show the public "science in the making". The idea was to "take science out of the laboratories", to involve the public in the birth of scientific discovery, the main source of progress. Although it was to be short-lived and close after the 1937 Exhibition, its success led the government to make it permanent, with the decree of April 8, 1938, which attached it to the Caisse Nationale des Sciences. On January 9, 1940, a further decree attached it to the University of Paris. In the 1970s, its solemn character gradually faded, and in 1972, Decree no. 72-367 of April 28 transformed the Palais de la Découverte into an autonomous public establishment. In 1990, it was granted grand établissement status by decree no. 90-99 of January 25, still in force today.
