Museum of the Future – in pictures and video

Eudore R. Chand

DUBAI 24 February 2022: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, toured the Museum of the Future, the new global scientific landmark provided by Dubai to the world, on the occasion of its grand opening.

“The UAE is betting on the future. It focuses on harnessing efforts, minds, resources, and capabilities to foresee, design and build it. The Museum of the Future is a major leap in Dubai’s and the UAE’s journey towards building a knowledge-based future economy, employing advanced technology in all development sectors, and contributing to creating an inclusive scientific and intellectual movement.

“The Museum of the Future, with its ethereal design and unique concept, reflects Dubai’s and the UAE’s philosophy that there are no limits to our ambitions, and nothing will stop our accelerated march towards the future. The UAE will continue to play its role in driving the Arab world’s knowledge movement to serve the region’s people and societies.

“The Museum of the Future is another landmark among the many scientific and knowledge initiatives and projects that Dubai embraces within the UAE’s vision to Reignite Arab Civilisation, evolve Arab minds, and advance the Arab world and its people. The Museum of the Future will be a space for knowledge that gathers intellectuals and futurists from all over the world. It is the largest research space of its kind, accommodating all ideas, experiences and creative conceptions,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was accompanied on the tour of the new landmark by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, said Wam.

At the start of the tour, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid viewed the orbiting space station (OSS Hope), which has been designed as a home for humanity in space.

OSS Hope takes visitors on a virtual journey into outerspace, where they discover and learn about various missions and research projects that are underway onboard the station. On completion of this first mission inside the museum, visitors return to Earth, to discover an imagined environment of what Dubai and the world looks like in 2071, following efforts to restore the health of the planet’s biodiversity and its resources.

His Highness also stopped at the ‘Vault of Life’, which deploys cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality technologies to introduce visitors into an interactive experience where they collect samples from nature while exploring the biodiversity of our rainforests. Their task is to contribute to the efforts being made to restore the natural environment, rehabilitate the forest with its living species, plants and animals, and help repair the damage inflicted on the forests.

Sheikh Mohammed listened to an explanation of the nature simulator, which allows visitors to list the living organisms they contributed to saving virtually, and then analyse them with the aim of providing a digital visualisation of their potential impact on restoring life to the forest ecosystem that forms the lungs of the planet.

His Highness was also briefed on the ‘Al Waha’ area of the Museum of the Future, which offers visitors an opportunity to reconnect with themselves, away from the distraction of external influences and always-on technologies. It takes them to a world that simulates the senses and heightens their response mechanism to external influences, in an environment that focuses on physical health and mental clarity to create a future free from distraction. This allows them to meditate and enhance the natural balance within them without the use of technology.

Also accompanying His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on the tour were H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council; Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Museum of the Future; Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan, Deputy Chief of Police and General Security in Dubai; and Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Chairman of Protocols for the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.

INSIDE THE MUSEUM – next page