Polish Chemical Society

Off the Beaten Track. The Cycling Journeys of Marie and Pierre

– a new temporary exhibition open from April 21, 2026

Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. The story of the famous couple usually focuses on their joint work in the laboratory. However, the Nobel Prize-winning couple followed paths off the beaten track not only in their professional lives but also privately.

The Curies were united not only by scientific passion but also by a love of nature. They shared a fondness for outdoor recreation and free-spirited wandering through meadows and forests. The exhibition highlights in particular the time they spent together on bicycles and adds color to their shared journeys. Here, bicycles become a symbol of modernity, emancipation, and the courage to live differently than conventions dictate.

The heart of the exhibition is a hand-drawn animation „Off the Beaten Track” (2026) by Zofia Brzezińska. The drawn story of the Curies' cycling journey is built from fragments of memories and things we can only guess at. Drawing inspiration from Young Poland painting, the artist recreates the mood that might have accompanied Marie and Pierre's expeditions.

The exhibition opens on the Polish-French Friendship Day, celebrated for the first time on April 20, 2026. The event commemorates the day the ashes of Marie and Pierre, who became ambassadors of fraternal relations between our nations, were laid in the Paris Panthéon.

More about the exhibition: https://www.mmsc.waw.pl/poza-szlakiem/