Museum of the Future’s rise as one of Dubai’s top tourist attractions

What makes the museum a must-visit for tourists and residents?
The visitor journey is a rich experience that takes guests from the present day to the year 2071. They begin by blasting off in the Falcon Space Capsule, which transports them to OSS Hope – a depiction of humanity’s home in space. Here, guests join OSS Hope’s community, interacting with various missions, characters, and elements of the space station. On returning to Earth, visitors experience the Heal Institute, which includes a beautiful digital recreation of a part of the Amazon rainforest. By going through the DNA Library, guests will also gain new insights into species living on our planet and how we can protect them today and in the future.

Another exhibit where visitors are immersed in the future and technology is Tomorrow, Today. This floor displays the solutions that have the potential to shape the future. The gadgets and innovations give guests a glimpse into what the next decade might look like. However, the museum also acknowledges that the future will not necessarily be dominated by technology. The Al Waha exhibit is an opportunity for visitors to explore themselves in a world that stimulates their senses. Visitors embark on an intimate journey in an environment centred around health and wellbeing, where they can easily detach from technology. The surroundings help people to meditate, reconnect with themselves and restore natural balance.

What are some of the key highlights since the museum opened?
The museum has welcomed guests from all over the world since opening in February 2022. We have experienced a huge amount of interest and engagement from people. Creating quite the buzz, already it is clear that the museum is a significant boon to Dubai’s cultural and tourism economies. As for figures, as of now,  total number of 136 different nationalities have visited the museum so far.  70 unique events were held in the museum and more than 100,000 souvenirs taken home from the museum’s retail shop.

We expect even more tourists to come and experience the Museum of the Future as Dubai strengthens its position as a global tourism hotspot.

MOTF is a stunning architectural marvel. Could you elaborate a bit more on its stunning architecture that is praised for its combination of design and technology?
The Museum of the Future is a unique architectural and engineering achievement. It stands 77 metres high but has no internal columns, making the structure a significant engineering accomplishment. Its immensely complicated design could not have been executed without the world’s best talents and most cutting-edge technologies being deployed. The stainless-steel façade, which stands without the support of interior columns, is constructed from 1,024 panels.

Each panel was manufactured with the aid of robotics and consists of four layers, taking 16 separate steps to complete. Each panel was installed separately over a period of 18 months. The museum was brought to life by implementing parametric design, a process based on algorithms. Building Information Modelling (BIM) was also deployed to allow engineers to collaboratively design and document the project. The lead architect that worked on the museum was Killa Design, who was one of many global partners that contributed to the building’s design and construction.

MOTF has signed partnerships with numerous global brands and national institutions. Tell us more about it.
In line with our commitment to collaborating, we signed partnerships with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Municipality, Dubai Holding, Emirates Airline, Audi, SAP, PepsiCo, and Visa. These partnerships contribute to the museum’s role in positioning Dubai as a platform for global collaboration and a hub for innovation. The partnerships support our objective to act as a platform for displaying and testing the innovations of world-leading technology companies and entities.

We partnered with Dubai Future Foundation to organise the recent Dubai Metaverse Assembly. Hosting over 500 global experts, policymakers, thought leaders, and decision-makers from more than 40 organisations, the event explored how revolutionary technology can be deployed across vital sectors to create a better future. Slated to be a bigger and more immersive experience, the city’s decision to launch an assembly based on harnessing the metaverse reflects its confidence in the future of emerging virtual worlds that will shape how humans live, work, and interact.

In addition, the first Dubai Future Forum took place on October 11 and 12 at the Museum of the Future, with the participation of more than 400 of the world’s most prominent futurists, and more than 45 international foresight institutions and organisations. Following the success of the inaugural forum, the second edition, slated to be held on November 27 and 28, 2023 will include a broader participation of experts from the region and the world.

How is MOTF a destination and an incubator of science, technology, knowledge, and creativity?
The Museum of the Future embodies humanity’s limitless creativity, innovation, and imagination through its forums, talks and exhibits, which aim to highlight, discuss and explore humanity’s latest discoveries as well as those yet to come. It is an open laboratory for innovative ideas and a permanent forum for discussing unconventional solutions across fields such as health, education, smart cities, energy, and transportation.

Not only do we host world-leading organisations and display the most advanced technologies. We also facilitate discussions that help drive sectors forward. For example, our Future Talks series emphasised our position as a knowledge-sharing platform for the world’s leading experts to engage in knowledge and experience exchanges. Through our various initiatives, activities, and experiences, we are positioning the museum as a key incubator for science, technology, and knowledge. and creativity. Moving forward, the museum will play a supportive and motivational role in the region and the world through investing in creative minds, ideas, projects, initiatives, studies, and research which add value to knowledge and sciences.

Read: Experts and thought-leaders gather at Dubai Metaverse Assembly