Children's Groups

Discover the characteristics of a bastion-style fortification, Vauban’s work and career, and the roles of the Citadel—from its construction to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Modeled after a board game, “Patrimonium” invites students to learn about World Heritage in a fun way. Through quizzes, charades, and critical thinking, students discover UNESCO, as well as the monuments, natural sites, and traditions inscribed 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 best way to explore Vauban’s masterpiece, featuring a visit to two underground galleries.

In our reenactment of a soldiers’ barracks, students will discover daily life in the 17th century and compare it to our lives today through various fun activities. It’s the perfect way to start getting a sense of where we are in time!

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…

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

During this tour, students step into the shoes of Louis XIV’s soldiers. From the morning reveille to the evening meal—including training exercises and chores—they experience a day in the life of a 17th-century soldier in just one hour. Mime acts and props enhance this immersive experience, while students also benefit from the guide’s explanations.

How can a few pieces of pottery tell a story? By stepping into the shoes of an archaeologist specializing in ceramics (or a ceramologist), students use pottery shards to observe, draw, and reconstruct objects in order to understand what they reveal about the daily lives of soldiers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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 extended periods.

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 extended periods.

Vauban, a military engineer… but not only that! Through his numerous writings, he has left us a unique perspective on the “Great Century.” Discover a more “philosophical” side of Vauban—a reformer who pondered questions that remain relevant today…

Visit the citadel without actually being there! With just a click, enjoy an immersive tour of the Vauban fortress with live commentary from a tour guide.

There are several possible routes: classic, underground bonus, and ramparts bonus.

A tool developed with support from the BFC Region, the DRAC BFC, and France Mutualiste.

A mediator can only travel to Besançon (20€ surcharge)

A brief but in-depth look at the history of the Citadel, covering the key milestones 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 tour and workshop invites you to discover the Vouivre and other creatures of 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 coffee machines? Discover the fascinating stories behind these small, everyday objects!

Locations: Musée Comtois

Freedom of expression is the foundation of any democracy. From Alfred Jarry to Tomy Ungerer, including anti-fascist songs and the Nativity scene, 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 invites you to explore the world of puppetry, which—long before television puppets—combined critical thinking, civic engagement, social commitment, and humor.

Location: Musée Comtois

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 understand the impact of World War II on an individual’s life? How can we cope with upheavals in our daily lives? How can we keep in mind that, for people living at that time, the future was not predetermined?
Through selected excerpts from the personal diary of Jeanne Oudot, a teenager from a village in the Doubs region, students discover, page by page, how individual stories and broader historical events intertwine.

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 did hatred of Jews become institutionalized? By what means and with what tools did the Nazis and the collaborationist Vichy government implement their anti-Semitic policies?
Through the study of various archival sources, students explore the life stories of people who faced exclusionary laws and the process of genocide, as well as the reactions of those who sought to act to save the persecuted men, women, and children.

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? What are the different forms of engagement? How can we define resistance?
Through a selection of examples, students explore the complexities of war to discover the connections between the Resistance and society.

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? Did they all draw the same things? In the same way?
In this workshop, students discover the treasure of the museum’s collections: the “Art in Deportation” collection. Unique in Europe, this collection highlights artists who risked their lives by drawing in Nazi camps and prisons.

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 dictatorial Vichy regime used images and words to spread its ideology. And what about today?

Biodiversity—what’s the point? 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 exhibits

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’ll learn how this method can be applied to the millions of known species and what it reveals about the evolutionary relationships between them.

Animal Enclosures and Education Room

Students explore a selection of Jurassic fossils… and Jura fossils! By observing and handling these relics of the past, they learn to identify different species and group them based on their common 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.

Locations: 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: Educational Room

A special opportunity where a science educator helps children meet some of the Insectarium’s residents. This activity allows children to discover the teeming 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. Made 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?

Locations: 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(submission of the breeding form upon confirmation of the reservation):

– the house cricket,

– the migratory locust,

– the Horned Tortoise Beetle,

– the stick insect,

– the Achatina (the only species for which the borrowing period is a maximum of 2 weeks).

• Pickup and Return Procedures:
  At the Citadelle reception desk on Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (pickup) and on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (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 five 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 the goose, they take on the roles of different species from Southeast Asia in their race 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: Teaching 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, between domestic and wild animals, and discover the roles these animals play on the farm.
Location: Petite Ferme