Centre•Sciences

What Centre•Sciences does

Centre•Sciences is a French non-profit association (Loi 1901) founded in 1991 and headquartered in Orléans, operating as the designated Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industrielle (CCSTI) for the Centre-Val de Loire region. With 11 employees, its core mission is the dissemination of scientific, technical, and industrial culture across the region's six departments (Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret), serving schools, researchers, cultural actors, and the general public. Its product portfolio comprises traveling and fixed exhibitions, documentation resources, multimedia productions, the Echosciences Centre-Val de Loire digital community platform, and recurring programs including "Science On Tourne!", Centre Galois, and the national Fête de la Science.

The organization's underlying technology is modest and standard: a Drupal 10 CMS powering the institutional website and Echosciences platform, paired with Matomo for web analytics. There are no proprietary algorithms, no AI/ML components, and no patents. The Echosciences platform functions as a regional multi-stakeholder community linking researchers, science mediators, and citizens, while the "Annuaire" directory and "Réseau et charte" serve as curated ecosystem coordination assets.

Centre•Sciences' business model is entirely public-funding-based, with no disclosed earned income, ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, or fee-for-service revenue. Operating budget is sustained through grants from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Regional Council Centre-Val de Loire, and European FEDER funds. There are no disclosed financial figures; revenue concentration on three identifiable public funders creates material dependency risk, while the multi-year programmatic grant cycle (including the L'Année de l'ingénierie 2025-2026 thematic program) supports operational continuity rather than growth.

Name

Centre•Sciences

Legal name

Centre•Sciences

Website

https://centre-sciences.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centre•Sciences is a French non-profit association (founded 1991, 11 employees) designated as the CCSTI for the Centre-Val de Loire region, disseminating scientific culture to schools, researchers, and the public via exhibitions, multimedia, the Echosciences digital platform, and itinerant programs, funded entirely by public grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Culture Communication

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Publishing Industries (513)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Science culture dissemination
• Scientific exhibitions lending
• Citizen science engagement
• Science education programs
• Cultural mediation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Orléans

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centre•Sciences is a regional Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industrielle (CCSTI) for Centre-Val de Loire, France. It coordinates the regional network of scientific culture actors and lends exhibitions, documentation, and multimedia resources to schools, cultural actors, and local authorities; organizes events such as Fête de la Science, Rencontres Sciences Citoyennes, and Semaines Culturelles; and operates the Echosciences Centre-Val de Loire digital social platform connecting science culture actors and enthusiasts.

Product overview

Centre•Sciences is a CCSTI (Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industrielle) serving the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It operates as a science communication hub offering a portfolio of physical and digital resources and programs. The core offerings include physical resources (Expositions, Documentation, Multimédias), a digital social platform (Echosciences Centre-Val de Loire), and event programs (Fête de la Science, Rencontres Sciences Citoyennes, Semaines Culturelles). Supporting programs include Science On Tourne! webcasts, Centre Galois for educators, Rencontres Jeunes Chercheurs, and Atelier de Culture Scientifique et Technique. The organization also maintains a regional directory (Annuaire du réseau) and publishes the Sciences au centre newsletter. The offering functions as a coordinated ecosystem connecting science communicators, educators, researchers, and the public across the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Echosciences Centre-Val de Loire: A social network dedicated to scientific culture actors and enthusiasts in the region

Products and services

• Expositions
• Documentation
• Multimédias
• Echosciences Centre-Val de Loire
• Science On Tourne!
• Centre Galois
• Rencontres Jeunes Chercheurs et Chercheurs
• Atelier de Culture Scientifique et Technique
• Fête de la Science
• Rencontres Sciences Citoyennes
• Semaines Culturelles
• Annuaire du réseau
• Lettre d'informations (Sciences au centre)
• L'appel des arbres
• Mission Anti-polluant
• Génie du vivant

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• La Turbine (CCSTI Annecy): Regional CCSTI serving Haute-Savoie with exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs. Directly comparable in size, mandate, and target audiences to Centre•Sciences.
• La Casemate: CCSTI based in Grenoble serving the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Comparable regional mandate with a hands-on interactive science center, exhibitions, and educational programming analogous to Centre•Sciences' offerings.
• Espace des Sciences (Rennes): CCSTI for Brittany operating exhibitions, conferences, and educational programs from a similar size and footprint. Closely comparable in scope, target audiences, and revenue model.
• Science Animation: Regional CCSTI for Occitanie (Montpellier). Operates with a similar Loi 1901 non-profit structure, delivering science culture programming, teacher training, and public events across its region — a near mirror of Centre•Sciences' operating model.
• Les Petits Débrouillards: National association running hands-on STEM workshops and science-education programs for schools and the general public. Highly comparable to Centre•Sciences' Centre Galois and Science On Tourne! school programs.
• Cosmocité: Newer regional science center in the Grenoble metropolitan area delivering interactive exhibitions and science-culture programming — comparable in the science-museum and STEM-engagement categories.
• Cap Sciences: Regional CCSTI for Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Bordeaux). Directly comparable in mandate, structure, and program mix — operating a science exhibition center, digital content, and education programs for a single French region.

Emerging players

• Echosciences (national network): Federated national social platform for science-culture communities that underpins Centre•Sciences' regional Echosciences instance. Comparable as a digital community platform and an emerging alternative channel that could either leverage or disintermediate regional CCSTIs.

Broad incumbents

• Palais de la Découverte: Historic Paris-based science museum offering interactive exhibits and educational programming. Comparable in mission (public science engagement) but operates as a larger, nationally recognized institution.
• Universcience (Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie): National French CCSTI and operator of the largest science museum in Europe. Overlaps with Centre•Sciences across exhibitions, education, and digital content, but at a much larger scale and with national reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EchoSciCVL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre•Sciences