Dubai’s new museum gives you a peek into the future

The city that boasts the world’s deepest pool, tallest building, and the biggest fountain is now home to another world first. The Museum of The Future, just opened in Dubai, entirely operated by solar power and with over a 1,000 artworks created by robots.

Inside Dubai’s Museum of the Future

Located next to the Emirates Towers on Sheikh Zayed Road, the museum is geared to transport you into a world 50 years from now. The idea behind the exhibits is to showcase next-generation solutions in artificial intelligence, space exploration and augmented reality that are expected to enhance the world for the better.

Three floors are dedicated to immersive exhibitions, addressing topics such as space resource development, ecosystems and bioengineering, and health and well-being. Walk around the tropical Amazon rainforests of Leticia in Columbia. The Heal Institute interactive exhibit educates people about their responsibility towards the ecosystem. Time travel with OSS Hope, a show that takes you aboard a huge space station in 2071. The exhibit Al Waha gives you the chance to escape into a life that revolves around your well-being and reconnect with yourself in a world without technology. There are 50 such exhibits on waste management, the environment, food security, agriculture and irrigation, and city planning. For children under 10, there’s Future Heroes, a play space that encourages them to discover more about themselves and their surroundings.

Designed by architect Shaun Kill of Kill Design, the museum sprawls over a colossal 3,23,000 square feet and took 18 months to complete with computer-aided design and engineering. The museum is entirely backed by solar power fed yearly with 4,000 megawatt-hours, sourced from a dedicated solar park.

Crafted from stainless steel and fibreglass, it houses 1,024 pieces of art, all manufactured by robotics. Nearly 14,000 metres of light lines brighten up the space and illuminate the calligraphic panels of quotes by the UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. The museum features a hall for interactive lectures and workshops and houses a permanent exhibition for future innovations and labs to generate and test ideas, particularly in developmental areas.

A ticket costs AED 145 (Rs2,946). Children below the age of three can enter for free. Website.