Device for the in vitro culture of cells comprising: a planar deformable substrate (3) with a culture surface (4), substrate deforming means for modifying the size of said culture surface (4), characterized by the fact that it furthermore comprises: substrate holding elements (5) which are located near the periphery of said culture surface (4), a frame (6,8) surrounding and directly or indirectly fixing said substrate holding elements (5), in such a way as to allow microscope viewing of the culture surface (4) and to avoid mechanical parts directly above or below the culture surface (4), said frame (6,8) being adapted to move said substrate holding elements (5) away from the center of said culture surface (4).