Children's groups

Discover the characteristics of a bastioned fortification, Vauban's work and career, and the role of the Citadelle, from its construction to its inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Conceived as a real voyage around the world, the Patrimonium board game is played around questions of general culture and activities of expression. The aim is to discover UNESCO, the monuments, natural sites and traditions inscribed on the World Heritage List, and in particular the Besançon Citadel.

Full-day package available in partnership with the Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans.
An educational pack can be downloaded from the website

This workshop invites students to transform themselves into historians. Their object of research: Vauban and his work. They discover the different types of historical sources (written documents, portraits, coats of arms, etc.) and the information they can draw from them.

From the construction to the daily life of the soldiers, including its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, this is the perfect way to discover Vauban's masterpiece, including a passage through a 127 m-long underground gallery.

In our recreation of a soldiers' barrack room, students will discover what daily life was like in the 17th century, and how it compares with today's world through a variety of fun activities. It's the perfect way to start thinking back in time!

This visit is an opportunity to understand how life was organized in the Citadelle in the 17th century, and what the occupants' tasks were. Along an itinerary defined by the children themselves, they are entrusted with objects related to the soldiers' daily lives. At the end of the tour, they return them, explaining the role they played.

This activity is designed for disabled visitors (blind and visually impaired, intellectually impaired). A sensory tour (outdoor and/or indoor) to discover the citadel's secrets: building materials, architecture, inscriptions...

This stone citadel hides more green than you might think. From the hilly landscape to the interior gardens, via the vanished nursery, discover a citadel that has been planted since the 17th century.

Behind its stones, the citadel hides water resources and needs. Discover the different uses to which it was put in Vauban's time.

What's behind this strange word? It's a method of dating wood by measuring its growth rings. In this workshop, students become dendrochronologists, working with wood cores and light tables!

"Vauban" shares his knowledge and passion for the history and architecture of the Citadelle with your students.

A difficult visit for people who have difficulty walking and standing.

Vauban, engineer and soldier... but not only! Come and meet a Vauban who was more of a philosopher, a reformer and a modernist. As you tour the citadel and discover his writings, you'll take a fresh look at this singular spirit of the Great Century.

A quick but intense dive into the history of the Citadelle, covering the essential stages from its construction to its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Before, there was no electricity... Before, there were no screens! In those days, sitting around the fire was a precious time to recount the day's events and pass on astonishing stories to those around you. This visit-workshop invites you to meet the Vouivre and other creatures of the Franche-Comté region!

Locations: Musée comtois and educational room

Freedom of expression is the foundation of all democracy. From Alfred Jarry to Tomy Ungerer, via anti-fascist songs and the Nativity, come and discover the surprising history of puppets from Bisonne, who have left their mark on Franche-Comté from the French Revolution to the present day. This visit is an invitation to discover the world of puppets, which, long before televised puppets, combined critical thinking, citizenship, commitment and humor.

Location: Musée comtois

How did we go from split pants to boxer shorts, from coffee grinders to capsule machines? Discover the great stories of small everyday objects!

Location: Musée comtois

As the exhibition rooms can't accommodate a whole class, the museum offers you a workshop tour supervised by two mediators: while the^1st group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Visit: Discover the history of the Second World War, the Resistance and deportation through the museum's collections, and immerse yourself in the daily life of French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: How can we grasp the impact of the history of the Second World War on the scale of a lifetime? How do we cope with the upheavals of everyday life? How can we keep in mind that, for our contemporaries, the future was not written? Immerse yourself in Jeanne Oudot's diary, and discover how history, big and small, resonated with each other.

As the exhibition rooms can't accommodate a whole class, the museum offers you a workshop tour supervised by two mediators: while the^1st group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Visit: Discover the history of the Second World War, the Resistance and deportation through the museum's collections, and immerse yourself in the daily life of French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: What can you do in a war-torn country where daily life is difficult? Why and how do we get involved? What are the different forms of commitment? Using a selection of examples, explore the complexities of war and discover the links between the Resistance and society.

As the exhibition rooms can't accommodate a whole class, the museum offers you a workshop tour supervised by two mediators: while the^1st group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Visit: Discover the treasure trove of the museum's collections, the deported art collection, and immerse yourself in the daily lives of these artists who drew at the risk of their lives.

Workshop: Why did some deportees draw in Nazi camps and prisons? How did they manage to find the necessary materials? An opportunity to ask questions about these drawings, so essential to understanding history.

As the exhibition rooms can't accommodate a whole class, the museum offers you a workshop tour supervised by two mediators: while the^1st group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Visit: Discover the history of the Second World War, the Resistance and deportation through the museum's collections, and immerse yourself in the daily life of French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: How to read a poster, how to decode an image? What messages do they convey? Through a decoding exercise, students explore how Vichy used images and words to spread its ideology.

Thanks to our story mat, "The Adventures of Leon the Butterfly" comes to life before children's wondering eyes. The story is followed by fun activities to learn more about our six-legged heroes. It's also an opportunity to get up close and personal with live specimens!
Location: Educational room

A special moment when a scientific mediator introduces children to some of the Insectarium's residents. This activity introduces children to the teeming world of arthropods, their biology, reproduction and growth, their defense techniques and their role in nature.

Location: Insectarium kitchen

Through this Kamishibaï tale, the group discovers the true story of a lynx in Haut-Doubs. It's an opportunity to learn more about the history of the Northern Lynx in France, from its disappearance to its gradual return in the 1970s. How is the lynx today? What's threatening it, and what solutions are being implemented to save it?

Location: Educational room 

A fun activity for disabled visitors. The group discovers the diversity of the living world through an interactive and sensory workshop, encountering the collections of the Museum of Natural History and the animals of the animal areas.
Location: Educational room
Workshop for disabled visitors only
Please do not hesitate to contact our teams to discuss how best to adapt this workshop to your specific disability.

Borrow vivariums and discover the daily lives of our tiny neighbors.
The Besançon Museum offers vivariums on loan to school classes.
You can observe and study insects and gastropods with your pupils.

• Species offered (please send breeding form with booking confirmation) :

- House cricket,

- Migratory Cricket,

- the Horned Ketonia,

- stick insect,

- Achatine (the only species with a maximum borrowing period of 2 weeks).

• Pick-up and return:
  At La Citadelle reception on Wednesdays from 3pm to 4pm (pick-up) and on Wednesdays from 10am to 11am (drop-off).
• Download the vivarium loan contract
• Reservations required on 03 81 87 83 33 or contact@citadelle.besancon.fr.

"Bio-debate" is a role-playing game in which players take on the role of citizens with different professions and sensibilities, and learn to debate for the good of their community.
Students are encouraged to think interactively about the relationship between humans and nature. The workshop is rounded off with a visit to the Naturalium.
Location: Educational room and Naturalium

Why biodiversity? How does it work? The "Biodiv' en scène" workshop is an opportunity to discover or better understand the notion of "biodiversity". Using tools adaptable to young and old alike, the group learns in a simple, practical and fun way about the importance of conserving as much biodiversity as possible!
Location: Educational room and animal areas

In "C'est dans la boîte" (It's in the Box), students devise a method for classifying living species. Then, through a visit to the Naturalium, they learn how this method can be applied to the millions of species known to date, and what it can reveal about their family relationships.

Animal parks and Naturalium

Based on an idea from the University and Zoological Museum of Lausanne, this game helps students understand the mechanisms of evolution. Shaped in modelling clay, the Mougs evolve generation after generation. Hair, hands or feathers, let chance be your guide as you create these strange creatures. Who will be the best adapted to survive?
Location: Educational room and Naturalium

In a fun way, students discover the threats facing wild species and the conservation actions being taken against their disappearance. Using a game of goose, they take on the role of different Southeast Asian species in their race for survival. The workshop is followed by a visit to the animal areas to meet them.
Location: Educational room and animal areas

La Petite Ferme is the ideal place to introduce young children to the animal world. Through contact with furry and feathered animals, children learn to distinguish between a mammal and a bird, a domestic animal and a wild animal, and discover the role of these animals on the farm.
Location: Small farm

A guided tour of the Naturalium to get a glimpse of the Museum's collections and discover nature from every angle. What is a living being? Are we superior to other species? What is biodiversity and what are the threats to it? And above all, where do humans fit into all this?
Location: Naturalium