The Académie des sciences publishes reports and recommendations, either on instruction from the government, or at its own initiative. The seven series of the "Comptes Rendus" of the Académie des sciences (Mathematique, Physique, Mecanique, Chimie, Geoscience, Palevol et Biologies), created in 1835 by Arago, are a bilingual journal and enable researchers to publish original studies in French and in English. The "Lettre de l'Académie des sciences", a quarterly review intended for a wide readership, presents thematic explicative articles written by the best specialists in the field.
Public conferences are organised each Tuesday. Some conferences are organised with other Academies (medicine, agriculture, technology, foreign Academies). A cycle of conferences "Scientific challenges of the XXIst century" was introduced in 2004. 5 to 6 international colloquia are organized each year.
The Académie des sciences honours and encourages French and foreign researchers by an annual awarding of prizes, of which the most prestigious is the "Grande médaille".
The Académie des sciences monitors the quality of the teaching of the sciences. It has created a Department of Education within its structures. The Académie supports the "La main à la pâte" (Hands On) operation, which promotes the teaching of the experimental sciences in the primary school and is experiencing a number of international developments.
The greatest French and foreign scholars have belonged to it: Ampère, Arago, Claude Bernard, Buffon, Curie, Darwin, Einstein, Newton, Lamarck, Lavoisier, Leibniz, Pasteur, Poincaré, Watt... The archives are rich in prestigious documents dating from the 17th Century onwards. They retain the minutes and sessions documents. They collect Academicians' personal papers. One of the Academy's missions is to promote scientific culture. To this end, it has installed full museums open to the public in two of its cultural foundations: Antoine d'Abbadie's castle in Hendaye and Louis Pasteur's house in Arbois.
The Académie des sciences has a long tradition of international scientific exchanges. Through its Delegation for International Affairs, it drives forward bilateral cooperative agreements signed with a very large number of foreign Academies and plays an active role in various international organizations, notably in inter-academic organizations.