Look at it from the outside and nothing will seem different. Walk through the doors in 2027, though, and you’ll be in a Museum of the Future you’ve never seen before. Dubai’s most futuristic landmark is reopening in the first quarter of the year, and everything inside is being swapped for something new. Really keeping itself on brand with looking towards the future. I have all the brilliant details you need to know, so keep reading to find out more.
Same Look, But A Totally New Story
The outside will feel like an old friend, but the inside is a fresh start. Fresh exhibitions, immersive spaces and new laboratories will take over from everything that has wowed visitors since the museum opened in 2022. The big promise is a more active role for you in exploring science, research and whatever comes next.
A Reboot, Rather Than A Facelift
Don’t expect the old galleries with a new coat of paint. Azza Al Nuaimi, the museum’s Chief Operating Officer, says the new experience will have its “own focus and direction.” The museum’s website FAQs confirm that none of the current exhibitions will return in their previous form. Everything is being replaced, with a new storyline and a different route through the museum to tie it together.
A Farewell To OSS Hope
For almost five years, visitors have blasted off to an imagined 2071 aboard OSS Hope. Dropped into the Heal Institute and Al Waha. Tried out emerging tech in Tomorrow Today. And (if they were little ones) joined the gang in Future Heroes. Those experiences are on their way out. “The existing exhibitions will be taken down to make way for the new experiences,” Al Nuaimi confirmed.
As for what happens to the individual pieces, that’s still being figured out. She explained that “decisions concerning individual exhibits will depend on their nature, condition and potential for future use,” and the museum isn’t yet ready to say which will be “preserved, relocated, reused or retired.”
Meet The “Living Museum”
That’s where the museum’s “living museum” label comes from. A traditional museum looks after objects and stories from the past, and a science centre explains how things work. The Museum of the Future asks what science and technology could mean for humanity next, so its exhibitions are never meant to freeze in time. “This is what we mean by a ‘living museum’: a place that continues to develop alongside the future it seeks to explore,” Al Nuaimi said.
Is It Going To Change Again?
Not necessarily. There’s no set expiry date for an exhibition. How long one sticks around depends on its subject, how fast that subject moves, and whether new discoveries open up a different way to explore it. In Al Nuaimi’s words, “Some themes will remain relevant over the long term, while the way they are presented may evolve.” So this big overhaul doesn’t mean a full rebuild every few years.
A Big First Chapter
The first chapter was a busy one. More than five million visitors, 620 events and 224 educational programmes. The experience is changing, but Al Nuaimi says the goal isn’t. The museum still wants to be a place where people from all backgrounds and fields come together to think about humanity’s future.
Save the Date… Almost
The museum is expected to reopen around its fifth anniversary, having first opened on February 22, 2022. There’s no exact date yet, and tickets will go on sale closer to the reopening, according to the FAQs. If you’re interested to know more, head to The Museum Of The Future’s website!
