From observation to theory

This exhibition was presented in two locations, each with a museographic conception adapted to the particular space. It unveiled for the first time the observation notebooks of Jean and Valentine Piaget, which were used to write the trilogy on cognitive development in babies. The overall objective was to show how Jean Piaget developed his theory of the development of intelligence in children based on thousands of observations contained in these notebooks. Particular emphasis was put on the transformation of the everyday life into a place of knowledge and experimentation. Out of their canonical function, ordinary objects (watches, toys, kitchen equipment, sheets, teaching materials, cushions, pipes, pencils, etc.) were used by parents to study the development of knowledge in their children in a playful way. It was also a way of staging the journey from the observations gathered in notebooks to the writing stages.

From June to September 2016, the exhibition was presented in the museal space of the Jean Piaget Archives, within the library of the Uni Mail building.

In January 2017, an expanded version of the exhibition was installed in the exhibition hall of the University of Geneva at the Uni Carl Vogt building.