Why Dubai Built a Museum for the Future

Reimagining the Role of Museums

The spirit of inquiry has always been at the very heart of human nature. Embedded into our very being, curiosity is a fundamental human attribute that can steer our lives in any given direction, influencing decision-making, opening new schools of thought, and broadening our horizons. It is a powerful driving force behind fundamental aspects of our knowledge, and has led to the most prominent and influential discoveries in human history.

We, as an international community, have always been intrigued by the unknown. We tend to wonder, speculate on, and dream about what the future might look like across different sectors. The future, however, is not only an abstract notion, but also a lived reality that we are set to experience. Having a space that allows us to think in depth about the future also gives us the opportunity to better influence it.

With this in mind, in one of our brainstorming sessions at the Dubai Future Foundation, we asked ourselves the following questions: if museums have traditionally exhibited the past, can they also exhibit the future? What would a museum of the “future” look like, and can we successfully redefine the role of museums in the age of technology and artificial intelligence? While museums around the world act as physical reminders of how far we have come along, they also hold the power to show us how far we can go. Despite conventional ideas surrounding robotic and highly automated narratives of the future, we were adamant about placing human agency at the core of our vision. In this fast-paced and critical age, where technology impacts almost every aspect of our lives, it is crucial to facilitate a gathering point, and build an intellectual hub for inquisitive minds to study, explore, and propose new advancements that will help us prepare for a better future. We wanted to create a platform to show the world what its future could possibly look like, and enable its brightest minds to bring that very vision to life. This is why Dubai decided to build the Museum of the Future, which opened its gates earlier this year. By welcoming thinkers, visionaries, and innovators, the museum became a new platform to not only reimagine the future, but to create it as well.

An Interactive Experience 

From the moment visitors enter the museum, they are encouraged to open up to new possibilities, and to join our team on an interactive journey to the year 2071. Across four floors, the museum creates a journey where visitors become active participants in an immersive and expansive experience. The space sector features heavily throughout the first exhibit, in line with the United Arab Emirates’ ambitious space aspirations. Visitors begin by taking a trip to a space station 600 kilometers above the Earth, and get to witness how the Moon could be transformed into a source of renewable energy for the entire planet. This segment of the experience enables our audiences to also observe future space missions, and to study new innovations in the field that will become a reality in the not-so-distant future. 

Another key theme we made sure to prioritize in our inaugural exhibitions is climate change. There is no doubt that climate change is one of the most critical issues of our time, and we wanted to provide a platform that would encourage visitors to reflect on their individual roles in better protecting our planet, and in advancing sustainable practices. To achieve this, we built a 21-meter-wide viewport that pinpoints locations and gives a description of specific climate zones and geographies. Witnessing pressing scenarios gives our visitors tangible insight into the urgency of the environmental degradation that our planet faces, and how issues of today can develop into even bigger challenges tomorrow. Our goal is for visitors to be encouraged by this visceral experience to become more accountable for their day-to-day actions and decisions.

Guided by this goal, our brainstorming sessions also resulted in building a mixed-reality recreation of the Amazon rainforest, a digital replica where visitors can observe the interplay of hundreds of species, and view details invisible to the naked eye. To bring the Amazon rainforest closer to home, we sent members of our design team on an extensive field visit to Leticia, Colombia. They were able to collect the exact soundbites and imagery needed to recreate the Amazon and bring it back to the heart of Dubai. 

Additionally, the museum houses a DNA library of thousands of species, where visitors can explore, collect, and contribute to the wonders of nature. The library fills its corridors from floor to ceiling with over 2,400 crystal specimen jars, each filled with unique lifeforms, either existing or extinct, and reveals the deeply interconnected nature of all beings. Highlighting the significance of biodiversity, this grand hall of species is split into sections of the many different forms of life known to humankind. The aim here, however, was not to only bring awareness to the diversity of species, but to also demonstrate how much more collective effort is needed to ensure the success of conservation efforts globally. The library acts as a timely reminder. If a visitor scans one of the jars and it flashes red, this signifies that the particular species is extinct. The elaborate installation reveals what we can jointly do to restore our rich ecosystems in our fight against climate change.

Technology, of course, shapes and underpins every part of the interactive experience. Technology has the power to transform and change the way we live, and can respond to many of the environmental, cultural, social, and political issues that define our time. We wanted our visitors to embrace the future of technology as a force for good, and this is why we launched the Tomorrow Today exhibit, an ever-evolving showcase of innovations that could positively reshape the world as we know it. The exhibit consists of prototypes that actively respond to challenges related to the future of mobility, energy, space, food, health, and sustainability. We built this special exhibit in collaboration with public and private partners from around the world, and it highlights how designers, researchers, and corporations are responding to our most urgent challenges. 

With that being said, we had to ensure that the human aspect in our vision for the future was still at the very core of our journey. Encompassing a whole floor, the Al Waha section of the museum invites visitors to listen to their mind, body, and soul as they are encouraged to take a small step away from their mobile phones and immerse themselves in the experience. Through this emphasis on inner peace and mindfulness, we are able to remind visitors of the importance of placing human wellness at the very center of our journey to the future.

Creating a narrative inspired by real aspirations for future projects was also central to our objectives from the early stages of bringing this project to life. The overall experience, the journey, is meant to put our past, present, and future into perspective. As visitors start from outer space and travel all the way through to inner space, each detail has been carefully researched and designed to give visitors a realistic impression of the future. This narrative allows them to paint a clearer picture in their minds about their own roles in the process, and gives them the space to deconstruct and reinvent notions around space, ecology, wellness, and technology.

Dubai Future Forum

In the first six months since the opening of the Museum of the Future, over 136 nationalities have visited the exhibitions, and we have hosted over 70 future-focused events across diverse fields and interests. 

In the upcoming period, the museum will host the inaugural Dubai Future Forum, the world’s largest gathering of futurists, in an attempt to significantly level up our efforts to foresee the future. Human knowledge is growing, and technological advancement is accelerating at a rapid rate. Consequently, we are no longer witnesses to change, we are the drivers of it. We need to be ready to deploy skills and technologies to serve society and enhance the quality of life for all.

Over 400 leading innovators, foresight experts, academics, and public and private sector actors will gather to envision what the world’s immediate future will look like across key areas. The Dubai Future Forum will focus on four main themes, which include: envisioning the future of our world, mitigating existential risks, questioning what it means to be human in the digital age, and hedging bets through foresight. Each theme will explore how humanity and technology can come together to overcome some of the most urgent crises facing the world right now, from the climate crisis to rising energy prices, and the ongoing vulnerabilities in the global public healthcare infrastructure. 

The gathering will include over 30 breakout sessions that will debate some of our most pressing current issues, including the advancement of artificial intelligence, the readiness of hydrogen as a primary source of energy, and the possibility of interplanetary exploration. It will also explore how various industries can harness emerging technologies to their advantage, and deploy Fourth Industrial Revolution tools to transform their challenges into opportunities. By bringing together today’s greatest minds for three days at the Museum of the Future, the Dubai Future Forum’s aim is to not only hold conversations around the future, but to also build a community that is able to identify solutions and empower different sectors. 

One of Dubai’s greatest strengths is its rapidly growing development model, which has been built on various foresight mechanisms embedded in different arms of its local government. We have seen firsthand, and continue to see, the impact of merging government processes, which have been too closely associated with slow bureaucratic functions, with the practice of foresight. This is why we wanted to launch an annual event that recognizes the importance of this link, and shares it with governments around the world.

Looking Ahead 

Through the Museum of the Future, Dubai aims to continue playing an integral role in enhancing innovation-driven cooperation between governments, institutions, and individuals from all walks of life. We also want to help establish new effective global partnerships in key areas of mutual international interest.

The international community has, in the past three years, grappled with disruptions that have impacted every industry, in both private and public sectors. The world had to seemingly adjust itself overnight to accommodate a host of unprecedented obstacles, many of which we are still going through today. Simultaneously, those exact obstacles have highlighted immense prospects that are yet to be fully seized and taken advantage of. Hosting forums, summits, and discussions is another way the Museum of the Future is going to place people at the center of critical discussions for decades to come.

We are looking ahead, quite literally, at the future, and with great optimism. We are determined to ensure that our platform embodies the spirit of courage, innovation, and optimism that continuously propels our home city forward. We hope that our efforts ultimately spearhead a global emphasis on the bright future that can await us all. It is now up to the international community, through commitment, collaboration, and open dialogue, to collectively reach for that future.

The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author, and do not represent Fiker Institute.