Archives in motion

Highlight the Departmental Archives, this is the motto of these 2 days of activities, offering the public an interactive and friendly experience punctuated by workshops, conferences, exhibitions, activities and fun activities.

Workshops and activities

• Workshop "I discover the career of my underground minor ancestors"

By registration until 06/11/2026 car limited places – Saturday November 14 at 10:00 a.m. and Sunday November 15 at 11:00 a.m. Duration: 1 hour.

This workshop concerns minors born before 1927 and allows the public to consult the files requested in advance with the help of an archivist in order to understand their content. 

• Workshop "Discovering the new Departmental Archives website"

Free access Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 at 11:00 a.m. Duration: 1 hour.
Learn to understand your ergonomics, presentation of inventories online, how to prepare your research, then put it into practice thanks to research exercises to carry out yourself with the help of archivists: search for a birth certificate, land register, etc.

ATTENTION! For this workshop, participants are asked to bring their own computer equipment: telephone, tablet or laptop.

• Workshop "The imprint of time"

By registration because limited places – Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 at 1:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour.
Based on the observation of stamped documents and stamps from the funds of the Center for Industrial and Technical Archives of Moselle, participants will be able to make a relief stamp, linked to the themes of the event.

• Paper creation workshop, in partnership with the Torcol association

Free access Sunday November 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
A workshop dedicated to the artisanal production of paper, from pulp to sheet formation.

• Minecraft workshop, in partnership with the Lana France association

Free access Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
Explore and rebuild emblematic places in Moselle using the video game Minecraft: the challenge lies in reproducing famous monuments of Moselle heritage using funds provided by the Archives.

• Virtual reality headset animation, in partnership with Helios Gaming

Free access Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
A visit to the Archives from a new angle thanks to an immersive 360° virtual reality experience. Equipped with a VR headset, the visitor lets himself be carried away by the movement of a drone and discovers the spaces from angles usually inaccessible to the public.

• Historical photobooth

Free access Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
Pose in a setting made up of old postcards from Moselle and leave with your souvenir photo.

• Escape Game, in partnership with Echappées temporelles

By registration because limited places – Sunday November 15 at 10:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour.
Immerse yourself in a post-war cold case that you will have to solve by carrying out your investigation and collecting clues scattered throughout the building.

PLEASE NOTE: Not accessible to PRMs.

• Discovery and practice workshop on genealogy, in partnership with the Group of Genealogical Circles of Moselle

Free access Saturday November 14 and Sunday November 15 at 1:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour.
The content is adapted according to the level and expectations of the audience. It is thus possible to favor:
- an approach aimed at beginners, presenting the first steps to starting a family search
- identification of different sources useful for genealogical research
- reading and interpreting ancient acts
- the method for progressing from generation to generation
- or, for a more experienced audience, a deepening of the research process.

• Dramatized reading, in partnership with Les Trois Points

Free access Saturday November 14 at 2:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour
Discover real stories preserved in archival documents, told and voiced by actors.

• Show "Au fond", in partnership with Cie La Bande Passante

Free access - Saturday November 14 at 4:30 p.m. Duration 1 hour
Immerse yourself in the history of the Moselle mines through a show created from the archives of the working and industrial world.

• Calligraphy workshop, in partnership with the Art'Ladies Culture et Fantaisies association

By registration car limited places - Sunday November 15 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. then from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Duration: 1h30 per session.
An introductory calligraphy workshop to experiment with the gesture of writing, tools and inks. A concrete way of approaching writing and documents kept in the Archives, in an accessible and participatory format.

PLEASE NOTE: Not accessible to PRMs.

• Screening of the documentary "Glück auf! " directed by Tom Dallem and Thomas Ramsden

Free access Sunday November 15 at 3:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour.
"Glück auf! " is a documentary directed by Tom Dallem and Thomas Ramsden which immerses the viewer in the fascinating world of coal mining in Lorraine. Through the eyes and poignant memories of Guy Consolini, a former miner, we are transported both into the abandoned mine landscapes and into the painstakingly reconstructed galleries of the Wendel tile museum. This film offers an authentic look at the life of a former underground miner, which gives us a glimpse of how mining techniques work in Lorraine. It also reveals a man's ardent passion for a profession that time gradually plunges into oblivion.

Conferences around Moselle history

• " Basically: family history and mining memory ", by Philippe Artières

Free access - Saturday November 14 at 3:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour
Based on the personal archives of his family from Saint-Avold, Philippe Artières, historian and research director at the CNRS, makes the link with the archives of Charbonnages de France and shows how coal and coal are linked to tragedies that occurred " basically".

• " Discovering Lorraine coal: the pioneers of coal prospecting in Moselle in the 19th century ", by Sami Rharrouz

Free access - Sunday November 15 at 2:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour.
In the middle of the 19th century, the search for coal in Moselle came up against a deep and waterlogged subsoil. Based on documents kept at the Center for Industrial and Technical Archives (CAITM) in Saint-Avold, Sami Rharrouz, associate professor of history and geography, will show how these constraints favored the emergence of new techniques, notably under the leadership of engineer Karl Gottheld Kind.