After my article about the cruise on the Garonne, another idea crossed my mind: to stay in the same spirit and continue talking about the city from a different angle. This time, not from the water but with my feet firmly on the ground. That’s how I thought of two activities I recently tried: an astonishing Lego art exhibition and an immersive science museum. Two very different experiences, but both with one thing in common they awaken curiosity.

What to Do in Bordeaux: My Top Experiences

1. Art of the Brick : When Lego Becomes Art

Some exhibitions surprise you within the first few minutes, and Art of the Brick is definitely one of them. Housed in the impressive Submarine Base, it features the creations of Nathan Sawaya, a former lawyer who decided to leave everything behind to dedicate himself to his passion: Lego. Today, he is recognized worldwide for his monumental sculptures that transform this simple toy into true works of art.

Masterpieces Revisited

Among the most impressive pieces are works that everyone knows: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Rodin’s The Thinker, Michelangelo’s David, and Klimt’s The Kiss, to name just a few. Seeing them recreated entirely out of Lego bricks is both surprising and fascinating. From a distance, some of them almost blend in with the original.

The Human Body in Lego

The exhibition goes beyond the masterpieces of painting and sculpture. Nathan Sawaya has also explored human anatomy, recreating organs: heart, brain, lungs, liver, spine, hand… Each piece is astonishing in its realism, giving the impression of rediscovering our old biology lessons, but this time through colorful bricks.
And since words alone aren’t enough, the images speak for themselves: judge for yourself whether these Lego organs are as impressive as I found them.

Introspective Works

Beyond the classics and the scientific representations, some creations touch on something more intimate. Yellow – one of the exhibition’s most iconic pieces – depicts a man tearing open his chest to let Lego bricks pour out. Others, like Mask or Dark Despair, speak about what we hide from others or about moments of deep fragility. These works give the exhibition a more personal dimension and invite each of us to project our own experience onto them.
I’ll let the images speak for these pieces that, beyond the Lego, also tell a little bit about ourselves.

Conclusion

The exhibition ends with a powerful piece and with Nathan Sawaya’s own words. His journey reminds us that it is possible to walk away from a predetermined life to follow a passion and turn it into a career. An inspiring way to conclude the visit, leaving you with the desire to believe that daring to follow your dreams is always possible.

2. Science Expériences : Science, Differently

After art, it was time for science. Science Expériences is an immersive museum that proves learning can also be fun. Here, you can’t remain a simple spectator: you touch, you test, you laugh, you wonder. I got to lie down on a bed of nails, watch my hair stand on end with electricity, observe carbon dioxide transform before my eyes, and even travel through space in virtual reality. Each room has its own surprises, and you leave with the feeling of having learned without ever being bored.

The Astronauts’ Room

This was one of the most striking sections. In a dark atmosphere lit with blue lights, you’re plunged into outer space. A scale lets you discover how much you’d weigh on other planets. The results: on the Moon I would weigh only 12.9 kg, on Mars 29.7 kg, but on Jupiter… 198.8 kg! Enough to put weight into perspective: sometimes it’s not us who change, but the planet that hosts us.
You also learn fascinating facts: a spacesuit weighs about 110 kg and has 18 layers of protection. It recycles water, urine, and sweat to extend astronauts’ survival. Current projects, like Artemis, aim to install a lunar orbital station called Gateway, while the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission (scheduled for 2028) will search for signs of life on Mars with a rover capable of drilling 2 meters below the surface.

A Journey Through the Sciences

After the astronauts’ room, we put on virtual reality headsets for a trip across the solar system. Each planet was presented, followed by the stars and galaxies. An immersion that makes you dizzy in the face of the immensity of the universe.
The next room took us deep into the oceanic abysses. You learn about the different depth layers, each with its species and mysteries. The balance between internal and external pressure is explained simply, with experiments such as a balloon submerged in water. The lesson is clear: exploring the depths requires precise technology to avoid danger.

Then came the brain room. You can test the bed of nails to measure pain, place electrodes on your forehead to analyze your emotions (the result appears in the form of a colorful flower: green for positive emotions, red for negative ones). Mine was made up of every color – a whole bouquet. There’s also an experiment on laughter, though I didn’t get the chance to try it.

A highlight of the visit was the discovery of the aurora borealis. Lying down in a darkened room, you learn about their formation: solar particles colliding with Earth’s atmosphere, colors varying with altitude and atoms (green for oxygen, purple for nitrogen, red at high altitude). We also learned that other planets like Jupiter and Saturn have their own auroras, sometimes even more spectacular than ours.

The path continues through a long corridor dedicated to climate. A clear distinction is made between weather and climate: weather is measured in the short term (days to weeks), climate over decades. The role of CO₂ becomes clear: some is absorbed by carbon sinks (oceans, peat bogs, phytoplankton), but more than half remains in the atmosphere, trapping heat and warming the planet. For the first time, I understood in a tangible way what environmentalists are fighting for.

The next room is dedicated to electricity. By placing your hands on a globe, you see your hair stand on end; by touching another person, you create a small spark. Fun, spectacular, and educational all at once.

Finally, the visit ends with chemistry. Mixing boiling water and carbon dioxide creates an impressive reaction, a visual demonstration that closes the tour in a simple yet striking way.

Conclusion

Science Expériences succeeds in turning sometimes complex concepts into games and discoveries accessible to everyone. You don’t leave only with spectacular images in mind – an aurora borealis, a balloon crushed by pressure, hair standing on end from electricity – but also with the sense of having understood something essential. Science is not just for researchers and formulas: it concerns us all, in our daily lives, in our planet that must be preserved, and in our shared future. A fun and instructive visit that makes you want to keep on wondering and learning.

If you’re wondering what to do in Bordeaux, start by walking the city reveals itself step by step.

Written by Aliane UMUTONIWASE