Claire Géraud-Stewart

Claire Géraud-Stewart is the Director of two neighbouring museums run by the Val d’Oise local authority. Located 50km West of Paris, these two museums focus on archaeology, geology, ethnology and botany. Since arriving at this position four years ago, Claire has been focused on creating high-quality interactions between visitors, collections and knowledge, and nurturing opportunities for unusual partnerships between her museums and the dozens of departments that make up her local authority – from social services to sports, fire rescue services and many more.

She is particularly interested in the way museums can foster a sense of belonging to a local community and create bonds between newly arrived residents and families with multi-generational ties to the area. She also works hard to emphasise the role of museums as guardians and curators of primary sources: invaluable sources of knowledge in a world where the strength of truth has become tenuous.

Before taking up her current role, Claire was the director of an archaeological site and museum in rural South-East France. She has long cultivated an expertise in rural museums and their role as local public services in sparsely-populated areas. Creative, neurodivergent and unbound by what is expected of someone in her position, Claire strives to offer insightful and surprising learning opportunities to all of her visitors.

Claire Géraud-Stewart will be speaking at the Museums & Schools Summit 2026 :

Eat like a Roman! History is on the menu in local schools

For 15 years, French gastronomy has been protected as UNESCO world heritage, and French school lunches are famous world-around. Beyond traditional fare, many schools offer themed meals to their students and use this opportunity to introduce cuisines from all around the world. But while Geography has often been on the menu, History had yet to make an entrance.

For seven years, Val d’Oise Departmental Museums has been organising historic meals for school students whose menus are written and cooked by her local authority. This has created an opportunity for thousands of teenagers to experience the past in their plate. Her museum staff has created a range of play-based activities to enrich these meals and turn them into fun learning experiences.