Paris 2025 -- Passion for Science and Sport, the Joliot-Curie family and the Musee Curie

There are many photos of Marie Curie, but they don't do her justice. She is immortalized as stoic, her face still and unsmiling, her eyes focused on her work...

or distracted...

The great myth of Marie Curie is that she sacrificed herself to science, denying herself any role other than Nobel Prize winning researcher. 

In fact, both Marie and Pierre Curie adored nature. They believed that exercise and time outdoors was essential. They took a long tour on bicycles for their honeymoon. 

Marie had a private garden outside her last laboratory and would spend hours there. You can visit that same garden today at the Musee Curie. (photo below from Feb 2020. I have only seen this garden dormant, in winter. And of course the statue and benches are contemporary additions).

Those pensive portraits that have come to symbolize Marie may actually depict her boredom with being photographed. 

Marie adored working in her lab, but she also balanced her work life with active outdoor pursuits. Marie and her daughter Irene hiked in the mountains with Albert Einstein and his family.

Marie raised Irene and younger daughter Eve to be avid amateur athletes. Irene and her husband Frederic were early adopters of tennis and installed a court at their home. Irene used her international connections to secure and share tennis balls, a rare commodity in post-war Paris. 

Frederic was part of a group of scientists who introduced Jiu Jitsu to Paris. 

The entire family sailed, swam, hiked, skied and skated. They joined other esteemed scientists who were early mountain climbers. Extreme sports for the time were fun for the Joliot-Curies. 

These exploits were celebrated with a sports themed array of photos along the fence outside the Musee Curie. This outdoor, free exhibition was installed for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Here are some other images of the Curie Family and their love of sports...

Marie and Pierre Curie's only grandchildren, the son and daughter of Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie, are also accomplished scientists, still working in their labs... and in their 90s! This exhibition has several charming images of them,...

There's even this QR Code to view footage of Marie with her granddaughter Helene...

Marie's younger daughter, Eve, was a journalist, author, musician, model, war correspondent, diplomat, and lived to be 102! 

Both Eve and Irene were trailblazers in many fields...

Irene had time with both of their parents. Eve was only 16 months old when Pierre Curie was killed by a horse-drawn carriage accident in the streets of Paris in 1906.

Irene was one of the first women to not just hike...

..... but also climb mountains!

This next panel shows Frederic Joliot-Curie's passion for sailing, including his own sketches for boat designs...

Marie Curie also enjoyed boats..

Skiing and Skating were also sports the family enjoyed.

More images of the groups of sports-loving scientists that the Joliot-Curies were part of..

Credits for this exhibition...

The metal fence outside the Musee Curie is often used for a display relating to the Musee or the Curie family. Admission to the Musee Curie is free (donations accepted), but it is only open Weds - Sat. Check out their top-notch website with lots of extras! https://musee.curie.fr/

You can see inside the Musee in this 2020 post from the blog, including links: https://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/paris-2020-musee-curie.html

The Musee Curie is on the of the grounds of the Institut Curie..

just blocks from the Pantheon...