SPARKOH!, a science adventure in Frameries
In Frameries, come to experiment, ask questions and have fun with science. SPARKOH!, formerly known as Le Pass, gives new life to the Crachet colliery: a day of discovery where industrial architecture and curiosity work together.
From colliery to a place of curiosity
The Crachet site belongs to the mining landscape of the Borinage. Its headframe, industrial buildings and spoil heap recall the activities that shaped the region for so long. Rather than erasing these traces, the Parc d'aventures scientifiques project reused them. The aim was to create a new purpose in a place whose history remained legible, connecting heritage, knowledge and leisure.
Architect Jean Nouvel designed the transformation by combining the old buildings with contemporary interventions. The centre opened in May 2000 under the name Le Pass. The footbridge and circulation spaces do not try to imitate a vanished factory: they connect the site's elements and invite visitors to move through architecture worth exploring alongside the exhibitions.
Why Le Pass is now called SPARKOH!
The name changed in September 2021. It retains the project's spirit while expressing its identity more clearly: a spark of curiosity combined with the surprise of a successful experiment. This small detail is revealing. A science centre is defined not only by the knowledge it shares, but also by the moment someone dares to try, gets something wrong and then understands.
This approach gives the place a different atmosphere from a museum where visitors only look at objects. Here, you are invited to participate. Discovery happens through the body, the senses, discussion and play. Adults do not need to know the answer in advance to share a visit with children: searching together is part of the experience.
Science to experience, indoors and out
Interactive exhibitions and activities explore science and technology through installations visitors can investigate. The programme changes and may combine challenges, hands-on experiments, films and guided activities. This variety takes you from observation to action, then invites you to question what you thought you had understood. The aim is not to rush, but to make connections with everyday phenomena.
Outdoor spaces bring a different rhythm to the day. The mining landscape and play areas remind us that science is not confined to a room. The spoil heap also becomes a way to understand the region. We find this combination particularly interesting: the outing brings the earth's resources, human inventions and present-day questions into conversation.
A day across generations, with straightforward planning
The centre offers activities from an early age, with spaces and programmes aimed at different audiences. Check the day's activities and participation conditions rather than assuming everything suits every age. Choosing a few experiments, leaving time to repeat them and taking a break often gives a visit more meaning than racing through the whole route.
SPARKOH! complements Hainaut's major historic sites without resembling them. Come for the pleasure of understanding and making a shared memory around an experiment, a surprise or a challenge. Check calendars, opening times and bookings on the official website. Crachet offers a convincing story of reinvention: a place once devoted to extracting a resource now invites ideas to emerge.
Photos and credits
Photo 1 — Science centre buildings and the former Crachet headframe in Frameries, photographed in 2019. Jamain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons source.
Photo 2 — Interior view of the Frameries science centre, formerly Le Pass, in 2019. Jamain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons source.
Photo 3 — Play area and the former colliery headframe in Frameries, in 2019. Jamain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons source.
