Agenda

About us

The Tunis Science City

Learning by doing

 
The Tunis Science City, officially opened in 2002, is an institution in charge of making science an inspiring and exciting experience for people of all ages. It aims to spark an interest in science and technology. In fact, its mission is twofold: on one hand, it is entrusted with instigating social dialogue on science, and on the other hand, it offers a wide range of enrichment programmes for students aimed at complementing the school's formal science education.
The Tunis Science City also prides itself on promoting a science on wheels programme. A bus full of science experiments travels across the country bringing excitement to children even in the remotest areas. The Tunis Science City covers 6 ha and includes four exhibition halls, a planetarium, a multimedia library, a congress center, a restaurant and a guest house. It attracts an average of 150.000 visitors a year. Its buildings are set up around the remains of a catching pool basin known as the Abou Fehr basin, built in the XIIIth century by Abdallah Al Moustancer Bellah, a Hafcide ruler (1249-1277), to irrigate the Abou Fehr gardens from a diverticulum of the ancient Carthage aqueducts. Reviving this hydraulic system in an area that symbolizes both historical continuity and modernity provides a true moorage for the Tunis Science City.

 

Indoor and outdoor facilities

a- Our indoor facilities

They include:

 
Planetarium

The Tunis Science City's planetarium has recently been reopened after having been reequipped with a full dome HD projection system, providing the public with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the wonders of the cosmos,  to discover colored stars, giant planets and how to navigate their way through space.

Universe pavilion

This hall is dedicated to astronomy. It helps distinguish between the different objects of the universe and to identify the solar system, as well as the Earth's position in it. On the ground floor, hands-on exhibits in relation to geology are also displayed.

Explora pavilion

This hall is specifically developed for younger visitors, aged 6 to 16 years. It is based on a multidisciplinary approach enabling them to experiment in various fields of science including physics, chemistry, geology, the environment, etc. The Explora hall also includes a mini auditorium and a laboratory.

Life and Man pavilion

This pavilion is dedicated to the history of Life on Earth and its evolution. Its contents are tailored so as to give visitors a global and evolutionary vision of life on Earth. It helps them discover life since its origins, right up to the amazing present diversity, as well as the evolution and history of Human Beings.

Pavilion for temporary exhibitions

It aims at renewing the scientific content of the city. It hosts two or three exhibitions a year on average, dealing with different scientific themes. Its goal is to gain the loyalty of the public and to establish a mutually fulfilling relationship between science and society.

Information Access Center

The Information Access Centre is the result of a successful partnership between Korean Digital Agencies and the Tunis Science City. The Centre aims to make people from all walks of life familiar with Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Multi media Library

The library of the City is a multimedia space open for all visitors. Its purpose is to ensure the dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge in an attractive setting. It puts at the disposal of both children and adults printed mediums, sound mediums, audiovisual and multimedia.

Science shop

The science shop provides the public with all kinds of educational games illustrating many scientific principles. We can find magazines, games, posters, and CD-ROMs that we can take away as a pleasant souvenir from the Tunis Science City.

 

b- Our outdoor facilities

The outdoor areas include exhibits illustrating some basic principles of science.
They are as follows:

Archimedes ‘ screw

The Archimedes' screw has been used to lift water to higher levels since ancient times. This simple mechanical device is believed to have been invented by Archimedes (287-212B.C.). It consists of a large spiral screw revolving inside a close-fitting cylinder. It is used to raise water for irrigation.

Crown at the main entrance

The number PI is one of the most common constants in mathematics. It is the circumference of any circle, divided by its diameter. Illustrated on the back of the main entrance crown, Pi ignites curiosity in visitors before they cross the Tunis Science City's threshold.

Aqueduct

The pedestrian footbridge, its roofing is made in the form of an aqueduct, is about 600 M. long. It cuts through the Tunis Science City buildings. It alludes to the Roman aqueduct of Zaghouan, which supplied water to the ancient city of Carthage.

Sundial
A sundial is a primitive form of a clock. It consists of a stick set in the ground, which casts shadow and indicates the time of the day.
Clepsydra (A water clock)

The clepsydra is a water-clock used by ancient Egyptians, Amerindians and Greeks. The Tunis Science City's clepsydra is composed of two receptacles shaped man and woman whose arms indicate time units once filled with water. The man's arm indicates the hours and the woman's indicates the minutes.

Foucault's pendulum

Foucault's pendulum is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of Earth. The Tunis Science City's pendulum is located at the midst of the reception hall. It is composed of a heavy weight hung by a long wire swinging in a constant direction, showing that the Earth rotates.

Noria (a paddle wheel)

The Tunis Science City's Noria highlights an important invention in the field of water mastery and management through ages. This mechanical device, propelled by the flow of water, animals or manpower was used for raising water from a river so as to make it flow to villages and to irrigate cultivated lands. At the Tunis Science City, the Noria, a didactic tool of a 13m-diameter, keeps the public informed about how Arabs, Greeks and Egyptians collected water for agricultural use.

Dinosaur garden

As they enter the garden, visitors are greeted by very large dinosaur replicas, which would excite any dinosaur crazy youngsters. They can get really close to them, touch them and admire their texture. The Dinosaur Garden is an awesome place that makes a lovely visit with kids, especially on a sunny day.

 

Annexes

Abou Fehr Guest house

The abou Fehr guest house offers 19 double rooms, two suites and four flats, all of which are fully equipped with air-conditioning, radiating, color TV and WiFi internet access.

Restaurant and Cafeteria

The Tunis Science City houses a restaurant that can seat roughly 300.

Conference center

This includes two auditoriums (one seating 264 and the other 132) and five rooms seating between 80 and 120. All these conference rooms are fitted with projection equipment systems. They are made to house conferences, symposiums, colloquiums, and so on.

An open air stage
 

An open-air stage (300 seats) located at the Tunis Science City's ample lawn space provides the public in every summer with musical shows and theater performances.