Form :

-Modern facilities in line with current international museum standards
-The exhibit can be visited independently or with a guide, with or without an audioguide, in French or English.
-Interactive modules allowing visitors to build their own personal experience.
-There is full disabled access to the exhibit.

Contents :

-The common theme, mobility, is illustrated here in the form of a road.
-Sets recreate atmospheres.
-The original architecture is highlighted.
Upon entering into the entrance hall, visitors are immersed in the world of Michelin transport. A 'Micheline' railcar, emblematic of the 1930s, together with a Bréguet plane, invite visitors to begin their journey. On the walls, a ceramic frieze retraces the history of motor racing, one of the Michelin brothers’ passion.

Transport at the end of the 19th century (level 0)

Here, visitors step back in time when transport relied on animal traction, motor cars were in their infancy and Clermont was discovering rubber, together with its numerous properties. It was the Barbier and Daubrée cousins’ era, and the arrival of the Michelin brothers.
Against a 1900s-style backdrop, objects, films, games and experiments line the route.

On the road (level 0)

As the properties of rubber became known, and the bicycle, followed by the car, developed, Michelin advocated the use of inflatable tires. Getting rid of solid tires greatly improved vehicle safety, comfort and mobility: it marked the beginning of L’Aventure Michelin.
Visitors meet the two founding brothers through a half-open window, in a décor typical of a wealthy middle-class townhouse in Clermont-Ferrand at the time.
Sound and visual features define the space, evoking travel and mobility in their broadest sense.
This was the start of an era of great motor races (Paris-Bordeaux-Paris with the 'Eclair' car, the Gordon Bennett Cup). People were also taking to the sky for the first time.

In the sky (level 0)

In a highly evocative décor dedicated to the air, visitors discover the Michelin brother’s passion for aviation (Puy de Dôme Prize and construction of the Bréguet IV and XIV planes during the First World War).

On the rail (level 0)

After air, the Michelin brothers turned their attention to rail. They set about creating a train that would run on pneumatic tires and the result was the famous 'Micheline' railcar.
In a setting evoking the first prototype (half-truck, half-plane), films and models trace the rail odyssey.
This space culminates in a series of personal accounts presented by life-size characters describing life in Clermont and at Michelin at the time.

Michelin Man square (level 1)

Having gone up a staircase installed inside a giant Michelin Man (better known in France as Bibendum), visitors enter an entirely different universe presenting more than a century of Michelin’s major advertising campaigns. The space is designed to demonstrate that Michelin’s product ads have always been innovative and highly effective.
Objects such as a moto-roue (miniature of a motorbike incorporated inside a tire) from the Tour de France, a Citroën Beach Tub van and the famous merry-go-round from 1895 – highlighting the advantages of air-filled tires over iron wheels – are just some examples of the exhibits adorning the space.
In an auditorium housed inside a rotunda, the Michelin Man himself greets visitors and presents the Brand’s advertising genius.
At the back of the rotunda, a gallery of posters and art works pays homage to the Michelin Man.

 

 

 

The world 'à la carte' (level 1)

In a setting of cubes, this exhibit depicts other tools invented by Michelin to facilitate mobility. Visitors will discover some of the maps and guides that have been used by travelers over the years since 1900. A space dedicated to signage retraces the factory’s key role in marking out the roads of France. This part of the exhibit wouldn’t be complete without showcasing the tools invented - and, very often, manufactured - by Michelin to help motorists maintain their vehicles: tire levers, keys, valves and other pumps are all displayed.

The radial revolution: but it still goes round! (level 0)

In a metal structure evoking a radial tire, visitors enter a universe of models, tire cross-sections, molds and vehicles showing how the technology evolved, first in France, and then abroad. This technological revolution applied to all types of tires (cars, motorbikes, trucks, underground trains, trams, planes, tractors, mopeds, etc.).
Numerous interactive features are used to illustrate the technology.

The little rubber encyclopedia (level 1)

Every detail of this complex product – the tire – is examined: the stakes involved, the raw materials, its production and lifecycle. A rubber tree forest has been recreated to transport visitors right into the heart of a rubber plantation (smell and touch terminals, display cases presenting the tools of the trade of the Seringueiros (rubber tapers). As visitors move through the tire school, the secrets of tire manufacturing are revealed in full-scale (trainees and/or educational films present the manufacturing process). And finally, environmental issues are examined with respect to the product’s whole life-cycle.
Panels, games and tire displays delimit this space.

The mysteries of the inner tube (level 1)

The last exhibit space of L’Aventure Michelin is an open door onto the future. As soon as visitors emerge from the tire school, they enter a highly dynamic universe characterized by fractal digital image projections. A half-open safe unlocks the secrets of the trade and, through the lens of the first electronic microscope, visitors can discover Michelin’s long tradition of research.
A mural of images, interactive games (track testing simulator), touch terminals, models and tires mark out this highly graphic space at the cutting-edge of technology.

The shop

As visitors leave the exhibition, they’re invited into L’Aventure Michelin boutique.
To prolong the journey, posters, maps, guides and other objects make great souvenirs and ideal gifts.

 

Languages & audioguides >>