A luminous walk in the heart of the ocean to discover at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris

A year after immersing its visitors in a world populated by gigantic luminous animals, the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris has decided to repeat the experience. This weekend, it inaugurated a brand new nocturnal tour, this time offering visitors the chance to dive into the heart of the oceans and discover the fascinating life forms that live there.

Entitled Ocean in the process of illumination, the festival offers a colourful and poetic walk through the vast alleys of the Jardin des Plantes. In total, several hundred light sculptures have been installed to form some fifty tableaux depicting four different marine environments.

From coastal birds to deep-sea creatures

Once you have passed the entrance, you are taken on a journey to the coast bysea birds frozen in flight before wandering past the inhabitants of the sands. While you contemplate giant multicoloured shells, others prefer to measure themselves against the oversized claws of a crab, challenge the bristling mouth of a crocodile or take a selfie in front of the turtles swimming in the middle of the algae.

The immersion then continues with a journey through the coral reefs and what is likely to be another visitor favourite, the guts of a giant white shark! A doorway to the entrance of the Menagerie, the zoo of the Jardin des Plantes, where an equally extraordinary bestiary awaits us, marvellously illustrating the diversity of life hidden in the oceans.

Fluorescent moray eels, psychedelic fish, bluish jellyfish and flamboyant squid - it's hard not to be dazzled by the sculptures, which even take us into the abyss, before returning to the surface at the poles with friendly penguins and imposing killer whales. Last year's visitors even have the pleasure of seeing some of last year's stars again, such as the polar bears.

Amaze and educate

Like last year, all the sculptures were designed by China Light Festival, a Chinese company specialising in the design and organisation of Chinese lantern festivals in Europe. The structures were made from metal and painted waterproof canvas, with LEDs built in to make them light up.

While the aim of the show is obviously to amaze, the Museum has been keen to maintain a real scientific approach, particularly in the selection of the species represented, which are faithful to reality. And for good reason, the theme of the ocean was not chosen by chance. It directly echoes the exhibition currently on display in the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution, Ocean, an unusual dive.

Through these luminous creatures, the institution is once again seeking to help visitors discover marine biodiversity but also to raise awareness of the fragility of these ecosystems. To this end, the tour is embellished with informative panels evoking the situation of the species or environments presented. We only regret that some of them are not a little more numerous or detailed.

But the Jardin des Plantes light festival once again succeeds in fulfilling its mission: to fill young and old with wonder and leave them with stars in their eyes. Is this wonder enough to call for the protection of the ocean and its inhabitants, who are so threatened? We hope so. In any case, the show deserves to be one of the not-to-be-missed end-of-year events.

The night walk "Ocean in the process of illumination" takes place at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris (5th arrondissement) from 18 November 2019 to 19 January 2020 every evening from 6 to 11 pm. For more information, please visit on the official website.