Forum départemental des sciences de Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Science museum in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France.

The Forum départemental des sciences is a science centre in the Hôtel-de-Ville district of Villeneuve-d'Ascq, designed by architect Jean-Claude Burdèse. Its glass curtain wall carries blue signs reading "forum des sciences" and "CENTRE FRANCOIS MITTERRAND", with green, red and yellow diamond panels set into the concrete beside it. A metal trellis projects above the entrance, and a white curved canopy tops a broad flight of grey stone steps.

The museum opened in 1996 as a result of initiatives by ALIAS, an association that had been working on scientific communication since 1985. This established an important hub for science education in the region.

The building is named Centre François-Mitterrand, and Danielle Mitterrand attended its inauguration on 14 December 1996. The Forum designs its own travelling exhibitions, among them 1,2,3... 5 sens, L'île aux machines and Petit carré deviendra cube, which then tour elsewhere. It also hosts shows built by other institutions, such as Zizi sexuel from the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie in 2012-2013.

The building stands at Centre François Mitterrand in the Hôtel-de-Ville district. The glass entrance sits at the centre of the facade, below the blue signs and the metal trellis; a broad flight of grey stone steps with a white curved canopy leads up to the "DE VINCI" side. The forum is open Tuesday to Sunday, with hours that change over the year, so check them before setting out.

In 2010 the Forum created the "Culture de Sciences" network, which brings together science initiatives from institutions such as the Centre historique minier de Lewarde, the musée Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambrésis and the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Lille. It is a regional cooperation between structures, not a visitor pass or a circuit of sites.