Located in the western part of the Grand Palais (or Palais d'Antin), the Palais de la découverte is dedicated to science and the transmission of scientific knowledge.

It all began when Jean Perrin, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1926 for his work on the atom, and future founder of the French national scientific research centre (CNRS), conceived the idea of a temple of "science" dedicated to learning and the popularisation of science. For six months in 1937, the Palais d'Antin hosted the International Exhibition on "Arts and techniques in modern life", an event aimed at offering the general public a panorama of  "science in the making". Two million visitors attended the exhibition, which was so successful that in 1938 the government decided to convert the facility into a new museum: the Palais de la découverte.

The Palais de la découverte organises temporary exhibitions and offers permanent activities including symposia, conferences and other meetings that have been widely successful with the general public and schools. The Palais de la découverte also offers a wide range of workshops where everyone is invited to extend their knowledge at whatever level in the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics, life sciences, geoscience, astronomy, or astrophysics.

Inventor of the "interactive" museum, the Palais de la découverte invites the public to attend experiments focusing on revealing scientific processes rather than producing results.