The fair used to be a place to have fun, but also to discover something new. Young and old alike prepared to visit the lion tamer, the boxing stall, or the levitating lady, but they also learned about pregnancy and childbirth. Professor Nele Wynants (UAntwerp) and actor-magician Kobe Van Herwegen visited one of the oldest forains (showpeople) in Belgium: François Delforge. A seventh-generation forain, he can still vividly recount his fairground past throughout the 20th century.

This past year-end, the Musée des Arts Forains in Paris celebrated funfair culture as intangible heritage in a new edition of the Festival du Merveilleux (Festival of Wonder). The unique museum in the Pavillons de Bercy convincingly demonstrated that the funfair is a living culture that exists only by virtue of performers and entertainers interacting with an audience. Spanning 12 days, more than 5,000 visitors a day could witness how this enchanting place beyond time set the stage for a dazzling programme of live shows, music and dance. During the festival, the historic funfair attractions,…

It might be hard to image for generations that grew up with the Sinksenfoor, but 150 years ago, people could learn something new at the yearly funfair. With her project Science at the Fair, Nele Wynants and her team research how itinerant showpeople and museums played an important role in the circulation and popularization of science, knowledge, and visual culture. In so-called anatomical cabinets, zoological and anthropological museums and scientific theatres, itinerant showpeople demonstrated "wonders of nature" and spectacular scientific developments at the annual funfair. Many of today’s…