New interactive exhibit explores stress at Laval’s Armand-Frappier museum
The Musée de la santé Armand-Frappier has opened a new temporary exhibition in Laval examining how stress affects the body and how people can better understand and manage it.
Studio pas de stress, produced by the Montreal Science Centre, opened on September 28 and will remain on display until September 7, 2027.
Designed for visitors aged six and up, the exhibition uses interactive activities to explore the body’s response to stress, emotions, breathing, movement, creativity and social connections.
Understanding how stress works
The exhibition presents stress as a natural reaction that can help the body respond to perceived threats, while also examining the effects of intense or prolonged stress on health and well-being.
“The goal is not to make stress disappear, but to better understand what happens in our bodies and discover different ways to deal with it,” said Guylaine Archambault, executive director of the Musée de la santé Armand-Frappier.
Visitors can also continue the experience in the museum’s laboratories through an activity focused on emotions, the brain, neurons and synapses.
Laval youth contributed to the exhibition
Several Laval youth projects have been incorporated into the exhibition.
Students from Saint-Maxime and Saint-Gilles schools participated in the Un esprit sain, ça se cultive, science à l’appui project, where they submitted questions about stress, emotions and well-being. Their questions were discussed with an expert from the Association pour la santé publique du Québec and are now featured in short video capsules.
The museum also worked with Les Zépanouis, a Laval social pediatrics centre, on an art-therapy project led by art therapist Claudia Laurin and artist Lisa Tognon.
Works created by participating youth are included in the exhibition and will also be used in some of the museum’s educational activities.
Exhibition runs for nearly one year
Studio pas de stress is presented with support from Bausch Health Canada and other public and community partners.
The exhibition is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Musée de la santé Armand-Frappier, located at 2150 Autoroute des Laurentides in Laval.
