The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), or National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, is a doctoral degree-granting higher education establishment (or grand établissement) operated by the French government, dedicated to providing education and conducting research for the promotion of science and industry. It has a large museum of inventions accessible to the public.
It was founded on 10 October 1794, during the French Revolution.[1] It was first proposed by the Abbé Henri Grégoire as a "depository for machines, models, tools, drawings, descriptions and books in all the areas of the arts and trades".[2] The deserted Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs (and particularly its Gothic refectory by Pierre de Montereau) was selected as the site of collection, which formally opened in 1802.
Originally charged with the collection of inventions, it has since become an educational institution. At the present time, it is known primarily as a continuing education school for adults seeking engineering (multidisciplinary scientific program) and business degrees, proposing evening classes in a variety of topics.
The collection of inventions is now operated by the Musée des Arts et Métiers. The original Foucault pendulum was exhibited as part of the collection, but was moved to the Panthéon in 1995 during museum renovation. It was later reinstalled in the Musée des Arts et Métiers. On 6 April 2010,[3] the cable suspending the original pendulum bob snapped causing irreparable damage to the pendulum and to the marble flooring of the museum.[4]
The novel Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco deals greatly with this establishment, as the Foucault pendulum hung in the museum plays a great role in the storyline. The novel was published in 1989 prior to the pendulum being moved back to the Panthéon during museum reconstruction.[5]
The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers is located at 292 rue Saint Martin, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, in the historical area of the city named Le Marais.