The Museum of Tomorrow - A voyage that leaves no one unimpressed

Rio de Janeiro is stunning, exuding a laid-back elegance that makes it truly unique. In the so-called “Marvellous City”, the Museum of Tomorrow is definitely worth a visit. This modern and striking building bears the unmistakable signature of Santiago Calatrava, master of “spectacular architecture”, who also designed the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia and the Oriente Railway Station in Lisbon.

This museum is an experience focused on the future, which aims to draw our attention to the impact that human beings are having on the world in which they live, showing us the good and bad things that we can expect to happen and forcing us to think about changing our behaviour in order to build a better tomorrow.

The visit takes us through five areas: Cosmos, Earth, Anthropocene, Tomorrows and Us. In the Cosmos space, it all begins with an engrossing audio-visual experience, as we lie on the floor and watch a 360º video explaining the cosmological theory of the formation of the universe, the Big Bang. 

In the Earth pavilion, we discover who we are and what life is like on our planet. The winds, the atmosphere, the oceans, but also living beings, DNA, and what makes us human: thought and emotions. Everything is presented in a captivating, interactive way that makes you think.  

Anthropocene, a term coined by Paul Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, relates to Man and Geology, and this pavilion brings us face to face with facts, statistics and real images of human activity on Earth and its impact on the planet. I recall feeling overwhelmed by some of the images and information, which I was unaware of.

The Tomorrows section has games, interactive screens and videos that attempt to explain what the future will be like. This section showcases different civilisations and helps us understand how we should manage our resources to ensure the future of humanity. It has a strong focus on sustainability and entertaining interactivity.

This science museum also has emotionally stirring moments, such as when two veils of thin, light fabric dance in a dark room with a beam of white light and bursts of compressed air, accompanied by piano music, perhaps inspired by the legendary plastic bag scene in Sam Mendes’ film American Beauty (1999), which won eight Oscars.

Finally, the Us wing features several references to indigenous peoples and is decorated in such a way as to encourage introspection. It is suggested that tomorrow begins today with the choices we make, and the goal is for us to start making decisions right there.

In Rio de Janeiro, a visit to the Museum of Tomorrow is a must. And so is the reflection it provokes. 

António Paraíso
Marketing Consultant