The cave, in perfect condition when discovered, was opened to the public in 1948, causing the once vivid colors to fade, and bacteria, algae, and fungi to grow over some of the paintings. In 1963, the cave was therefore closed to public visit and immediately became the object of surveillance and conservation. The cave was first disinfected with streptomycin, penicillin, kanamycin, and formaldehyde aerosol. Temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide content are monitored daily in the various galleries, since seasonally variable parameters are not the same in each. An air conditioner condenses excess humidity and expels it outside. To reconcile the imperatives of tourism with those of conservation, a series of life-size reproductions (comprising photographs and painted facsimiles of the main paintings on photogrammetrically true artificial galleries) are displayed next to the cave Lascaux II, and in the National Museum of Antiquities at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.