Children's groups

Discover the characteristics of a bastioned fortification, the work and career of Vauban, and the roles of the Citadel, from its construction to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Designed as a journey around the world, the board game Patrimonium is based on general knowledge questions and creative activities. The goal is to learn about UNESCO, the monuments, natural sites, and traditions listed on the World Heritage List—and, in particular, the Citadel of Besançon.

An educational resource is available for download on the website

This workshop invites students to step into the shoes of a historian: deciphering texts, looking for details on a map, cross-checking information… A real investigation to learn more about Vauban and the citadel.

From its construction to the daily lives of the soldiers, including its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this tour offers the ultimate exploration of Vauban’s masterpiece, featuring a visit to two underground galleries.

In our reenactment of a soldiers’ barracks, students will discover what daily life was like in the 17th century and compare it to our lives today through a variety of fun activities. It’s the perfect way to start getting a sense of history!

This tour offers an opportunity to learn how life was organized within the Citadel in the 17th century and what tasks its inhabitants performed. Throughout a route they design themselves, the children are given objects related to the soldiers’ daily lives. At the end of the tour, they return the objects while explaining the role each one represented.

Activity designed for people with disabilities (blind and visually impaired individuals, and those with intellectual disabilities). A sensory tour (outdoors and/or indoors) to discover the secrets of the citadel: building materials, architecture, inscriptions…

This stone citadel hides more greenery than you might think. From the rolling hills to the inner gardens, and even the long-gone nursery, come discover a citadel that has been lush with vegetation since the 17th century.

Behind its stone walls, the citadel conceals water resources and needs. Discover the various ways in which water was used during Vauban’s time.

What does this strange word mean? It’s a method for dating wood by measuring its growth rings. In this workshop, students become dendrochronologists as they work with wood cores and light tables!

Louis Fabry de Montcault, governor of the citadel, welcomes you to his fortress: he will explain how daily life is organized for the 600 soldiers and cadets (officer trainees) under his command.

This tour may be difficult for people who have trouble walking or standing for long periods of time.

Starting in April 2026

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

This tour may be difficult for people who have trouble walking or standing for long periods of time.

Vauban: engineer and soldier… but that’s not all! Come discover a more “philosophical,” reform-minded, and modern side of Vauban. As you tour the citadel and explore his writings, you’ll gain a fresh perspective on this unique figure of the Grand Siècle.

A brief but in-depth look at the history of the Citadel, covering the key stages from its construction to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Back then, there was no electricity… Back then, there were no screens! Gathering around the fire was a precious time to share stories about the day and pass on amazing tales to those around you. This guided workshop invites you to meet the Vouivre and other creatures from Franche-Comté!

Locations: Comtois Museum and Education Room

Cultural exchanges, changing social norms, material transformations… How did we go from split-crotch underwear to boxer shorts, and from coffee grinders to capsule machines? Discover the fascinating stories behind the small objects of everyday life!

Locations: Comtois Museum

Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any democracy. From Alfred Jarry to Tomy Ungerer, through anti-fascist songs and Nativity scenes, come discover the surprising history of Besançon’s puppets, which have left their mark on the Franche-Comté region from the French Revolution to the present day. This tour is an invitation to explore the world of puppets, which, long before television puppets, blended critical thinking, civic engagement, activism, and humor.

Location: Musée Comtois

Since the exhibition halls cannot accommodate an entire class, the museum offers a guided tour combined with a workshop led by two docents: while the^first group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Tour: Discover the history of World War II, the Resistance, and the deportations through the museum’s collections, and get a glimpse into the daily lives of the French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: How can we grasp the impact of World War II on an individual’s life? How can we cope with the upheavals of daily life? How can we remember that, for people living at the time, the future was not yet written? Delve into Jeanne Oudot’s personal diary and discover, as you turn the pages, how personal and collective history intertwine.

Since the exhibition halls cannot accommodate an entire class, the museum offers a guided tour combined with a workshop led by two docents: while the first group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Tour: Discover the history of World War II, the Resistance, and the deportations through the museum’s collections, and get a glimpse into the daily lives of the French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: 1933–1945. It took just twelve years to exterminate nearly 6 million Jewish women, men, and children. In occupied Europe, what methods and tools did the Nazis and the collaborationist Vichy government use to carry out their anti-Semitic policies? Drawing on a variety of archival sources, students explore the life stories of people confronted with exclusionary laws and the process of genocide. In the face of violent persecution, women and men risked their lives and committed themselves to helping and saving Jews from extermination.

Since the exhibition halls cannot accommodate an entire class, the museum offers a guided tour combined with a workshop led by two docents: while the^first group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Tour: Discover the history of World War II, the Resistance, and the deportations through the museum’s collections, and get a glimpse into the daily lives of the French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: What can be done in a country at war where daily life is difficult? Why and how do people get involved? What are the different forms of engagement? Using a selection of examples, explore the complexities of war to discover the connections between the Resistance and society.

Since the exhibition halls cannot accommodate an entire class, the museum offers a guided tour combined with a workshop led by two docents: while the^first group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Tour: Discover the museum’s most treasured collection—the “Art in Deportation” 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 prisons and camps? How did they manage to find the necessary materials? This is an opportunity to reflect on these drawings, which are so essential to understanding history.

Since the exhibition halls cannot accommodate an entire class, the museum offers a guided tour combined with a workshop led by two docents: while the^first group tours the museum, the second takes part in a workshop.

Tour: Discover the history of World War II, the Resistance, and the deportations through the museum’s collections, and get a glimpse into the daily lives of the French people in the early 1940s.

Workshop: How do you read a poster? How do you interpret an image? How do you understand the messages they convey? Through an analysis exercise, students explore how the Vichy regime used images and words to spread its ideology.

What is biodiversity, and why is it important? How does it work? The “Biodiv’ en scène” workshop helps participants discover or better understand the concept of “biodiversity.” Using tools suitable for all ages, the group learns in a simple, hands-on, and fun way about the importance of preserving the richest possible biodiversity!
Locations: Education Room and Animal Enclosures

Our beautiful planet is teeming with millions of forms of life! But how do scientists today make sense of all this diversity? During this activity, students will discover the principle of nested classification by observing the animals in the animal exhibits. Throughout the workshop, they will learn how this method can be applied to the millions of known species and what it reveals about the relationships between them.

Animal enclosures and educational room

Students explore a selection of fossils from the Jurassic period… and the Jura region! By observing and handling these relics of the past, they learn to identify different species and group them based on their shared characteristics. The “Fossil Mix” workshop offers a fun introduction to the principles of scientific classification and helps students reconstruct the past environments of our region.

Location: Classroom

Thanks to our story mat, “The Adventures of Léon the Butterfly” comes to life before the children’s wide-eyed wonder. The story is followed by fun activities to help children get to know our six-legged heroes better. It’s also a chance to observe live specimens up close!
Location: Education Room

A special opportunity where a science educator helps children meet some of the Insectarium’s residents. This activity allows children to discover the diverse world of arthropods, their biology, how they reproduce and grow, their defense mechanisms, and their roles in nature.

Location: Insectarium Kitchen

Based on an idea from the University and the Zoological Museum of Lausanne, this game helps students understand the mechanisms of evolution. Shaped from modeling clay, the Mougs evolve generation after generation. Whether it’s fur, hands, or feathers, let chance guide you as you create strange creatures. Which one will be best suited to survive?

Location: Classroom

A fun activity designed for visitors with disabilities. The group explores the diversity of the living world through an interactive, sensory workshop that introduces them to the collections of the Natural History Museum and the animals in the animal exhibits.
Location: Education Room
Workshop exclusively for visitors with disabilities
Please feel free to contact our staff so we can work together to determine the best way to adapt this workshop to the specific disability.

A guided tour of the Naturalium to get a glimpse of the museum’s collections and explore nature from every angle. What is a living being? Are we superior to other species? What is biodiversity, and what threats does it face? And above all, what is humanity’s place in all of this?
Location: Naturalium

Borrow vivariums and discover the daily lives of our tiny neighbors.
The Besançon Museum offers vivariums on loan to school classes.
This will allow you and your students to observe and study insects and gastropods.

• Proposed breeds(the breeding form will be provided upon confirmation of the reservation):

– the house cricket,

– the migratory locust,

– the long-horned rose chafer,

– the stick insect,

– the Achatina (the only species for which the borrowing period is limited to a maximum of two weeks).

• Pickup and return instructions:
  At the Citadelle reception desk on Wednesdays from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (pickup) and on Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (return).
• Download the vivarium loan agreement
• Reservations are required. Please call 03 81 87 83 33 or email contact@citadelle.besancon.fr.

Check out the educational kit for free from one of our 5 workshops designed to help you understand biodiversity:

• A History of Insects
• Biodiv’ on Stage
• Run for your lives
• It's a done deal
• Bio-debate

Reservations are required. Please call 03 81 87 83 33 or email contact@citadelle.besancon.fr

Students learn in a fun way about the threats facing wildlife and the conservation efforts being made to prevent their extinction. Through a game of Snakes and Ladders, they take on the roles of different species from Southeast Asia in their struggle for survival. The workshop is followed by a tour of the animal enclosures to meet the animals in person.
Locations: Education Room and animal enclosures

Through this Kamishibai story, the group learns the true story of a lynx from the Haut-Doubs region. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the history of the Eurasian lynx in France, from its disappearance to its gradual return in the 1970s. How is the lynx faring today? What threats does it face, and what measures are being taken to save it?

Location: Training Room 

La Petite Ferme is the perfect place to introduce young children to the animal world. Through interaction with furry and feathered animals, children learn to distinguish between mammals and birds, as well as between domestic and wild animals, and discover the roles these animals play on the farm.
Location: Petite Ferme