Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, public institution of higher learning in Paris, dedicated to applied science and technology, that grants degrees primarily in engineering. It is also a laboratory that specializes in testing, measuring, and standardization. Its third component is a national museum of technology. It was founded by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1794, in the former priory of St.-Martin-des-Champs, to house his own and others’ inventions; his automated loom, found there after his death by J.-M. Jacquard, became the basis for Jacquard’s revolutionary design. It contains numerous elaborate automatons and other mechanical devices popular in the 18th century.