Report on the Traveling Exhibition “Collège Irène et Frédéric Joliot,” Carqueiranne

The exhibition “Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie, Between Science and Society” was held on February 7, 2025 at the Collège Irène et Frédéric Joliot-Curie in Carqueiranne (Var). Set up the previous afternoon in the school gymnasium by Mr. Farid Ménacer, physics and chemistry teacher and initiator of the event, the exhibition consisted of twelve panels from the traveling exhibition developed by Ms. Jocelyne Blais, member of the Curie Joliot-Curie Association. Two vertical display cases completed the exhibit, presenting documents related to the work of Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie and the awarding of their Nobel Prize, along with several laboratory glassware objects and molecular models.

On February 7, the day began with a convivial gathering, followed by the inauguration of the exhibition in front of the 6th-grade students by Mr. Stassinos (Mayor of Le Pradet), Ms. Fogu (Head of Culture at the Carqueiranne Town Hall), Mr. Castel (Regional Academic Inspector), Mr. Humbert (Principal of the Collège), as well as Mr. Menacer and Ms. Olchowik (librarian). A journalist from Var Matin was also present.

After the inauguration, the twenty-seven students took part in a quiz prepared by Mr. Menacer. The quiz included three questions per panel — thirty-six in total — with four possible answers for each. The students engaged enthusiastically in the activity for over an hour.

Following the quiz, Yves Jacquot, chemist and member of the Curie Joliot-Curie Association, gave a one-hour lecture tailored to the audience, which prompted many questions from the three 6th-grade classes (more than one hundred students). That same day at 6 p.m., he gave a second lecture, this time for a wider audience, on the lives and major discoveries of Pierre and Marie Curie, as well as Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie. The day concluded around 8 p.m.