ASSOCIATION CAP SCIENCES-CENTRE DE CULTURE SCIENTIFIQUE TECHNIQUE ET INDUSTRIELLE BORDEAUX-AQUITAINE

Their core work

Cap Sciences is a science centre and cultural venue in Bordeaux that specializes in making research accessible to the general public through interactive exhibitions, science cafés, researcher-public dialogue events, and participatory experiences. Their core activity in H2020 has been organizing the European Researchers' Night in France — large-scale public engagement events that bring scientists face-to-face with citizens through entertainment, storytelling, and hands-on experiments. They also contribute to pan-European exhibition projects that travel across science centres and museums, translating complex research topics into engaging public formats.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2014-2017), Cap Sciences participated in broader thematic engagement — a pan-European exhibition on health innovation and frugal science (SPARKS), alongside standard Researchers' Night events. Their early keywords reflect diverse formats: science cafés, science shops, and open science. From 2018 onward, the focus narrowed to more immersive, narrative-driven public events — projects like STORIES, LINCS ("Little Nocturnal Secrets"), and VOYAGES emphasize storytelling, imagination, and interactive atmospheres rather than traditional science communication formats.

Moving toward experiential, story-driven science engagement formats — a partner for anyone needing creative public-facing dissemination that goes beyond standard conference booths.

How they like to work

Cap Sciences has never coordinated an H2020 project — they consistently join as a participant or third party in Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). With 47 unique partners across 29 countries, they plug into large pan-European consortia rather than leading them. This makes them a reliable delivery partner for the French public engagement component of multi-country dissemination projects — they bring a venue, an audience, and event production expertise without requiring project leadership.

Broad European network spanning 47 partners across 29 countries, built primarily through recurring Researchers' Night consortia and the SPARKS exhibition network of science centres and museums.

What sets them apart

Cap Sciences is one of France's major CCSTI (Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industrielle) venues — a recognized infrastructure for public science engagement in the Bordeaux-Aquitaine region. Their consistent track record of delivering Researchers' Night events across multiple funding cycles shows operational reliability. For any EU project needing a French public engagement partner with a physical venue, event production capability, and an established local audience, Cap Sciences is a proven choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPARKS
  Pan-European travelling exhibition connecting science centres and museums across multiple countries, addressing health innovation and frugal science — their most thematically ambitious project.
• VOYAGES
  Most recent project (2021) showcasing their evolution toward imaginative, interactive engagement — theme of voyage and imagination signals their current creative direction.
• CREATIVITY
  Largest funded project at EUR 25,000, with the richest keyword set revealing their full toolkit: participatory events, dialogue, entertainment, and atmosphere creation.