The Museum of Tomorrow is bringing a unique experience inspired by the narrative of its Main Exhibition to the Citizen Village of the 8th World Water Forum – from March 17 to 23 – in Brasília. It is a replica of the Cube of Matter, which features several images of planet Earth in space photographs of the Blue Planet, captured by NASA, the American space agency. Measuring approximately 7m x 7m x 5m, the attraction will be installed right at the entrance to the pavilion installed at the Mané Garrincha National Stadium, inviting visitors to learn more about the planet and how it is impacted by human action. The experience was conceived by the Museum of Tomorrow with sponsorship from Shell.

In the external area of ​​the cube, visitors have a unified view of the Earth, as seen by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The Earth is seen not in its fragmented form, divided into countries or continents, but as a single star. Inside the cube, visitors will use virtual reality glasses and swivel chairs to watch a film about the Anthropocene, a theory defended by the Museum for the geological era in which we live, which has been strongly impacted by the direct action of man.

Using virtual reality glasses, visitors will be able to learn a little more about the Anthropocene, which is the central moment of the Main Exhibition at the Museum of Tomorrow. Anthropocene is a term coined by Paul Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Greek prefix “anthropo” means human; and the suffix “ceno” denotes geological eras. At the Museum, this area is periodically updated with rich scientific content with the aim of promoting a better understanding of the historical processes that led us from around 5 million Homo sapiens approximately 12 thousand years ago to the 7 billion individuals we are today.

“We have consumed more of the planet’s resources in the last 60 years than we consumed in the previous 200,000 years. The idea behind the cube is to show the results of human actions on Earth, which is our only home,” says Ricardo Piquet, CEO of the Museum of Tomorrow, adding that the space highlights our concern with the way we treat water and oceans, resources that are vital to our survival on this planet.

Around 45,000 people are expected to visit the space located in Vila Cidadã, which will be open to the public from 9 am to 9 pm, between March 17 and 23. This is a free space open to the public at the 8th World Water Forum, where people can participate in educational, cultural, interactive, sensory and dialogue-building activities aimed at improving water use. It is a space open to anyone who wants to participate.

“Shell is proud to have supported the Museum of Tomorrow since its inauguration. An important part of the company’s social investment portfolio, the partnership with the Museum is based on themes that are in the DNA of both institutions: science and innovation. To build tomorrow, these must always be at the center of the discussion. With 105 years of continuous operations in Brazil, Shell is honored to sponsor the first “extramural” exhibition of the Museum of Tomorrow, precisely on the occasion of the World Water Forum. Concerned about the future of energy, the company closely monitors the challenges posed by the interdependence between water, food and energy. Water is an essential resource for generating energy and food. Without water, there is no food. Without energy, there is no water treatment. And without food, energy generation is impaired,” says Shell Brazil’s CEO, André Araujo.

In the attraction presented in Brasília, groups of 15 visitors can participate in the experience at a time, which will present a ten-minute video, divided into two parts: content that talks about the situation of water on the planet and the film shown in the Anthropocene area, one of the areas of the Museum's Main Exhibition. Outside the Cube, another film will introduce the Museum of Tomorrow to all visitors of the 8th World Water Forum.

Water will also be a theme at the Museum of Tomorrow

In addition to the Cube of Matter, the Museum of Tomorrow also participates in the Forum by actively participating in the Special Panel – Global Compact for the Environment, which discusses the adoption of common positions and principles that guide efforts to protect and preserve the environment worldwide. The president of the Museum of Tomorrow, Ricardo Piquet, will participate in the panel that will take place on March 21st at 2:30 pm, led by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, with the presence of Yann Aguila, president of the environmental committee of the Club of Jurists of France, former environment minister Marina Silva, the director of the environmental sustainability department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reinaldo Salgado, among other authorities in the sector.

Throughout 2018, the theme of water will be a recurring theme for the Museum of Tomorrow. On March 24 (Saturday), right after the end of the event in Brasília, the Museum will hold the seminar “Water and climate change: global challenges for 2030”, with some international speakers who will participate in the Forum. The event will also feature the “Baía do Amanhã” project, which proposes a new expansion of the Main Exhibition, with discussions on both Guanabara Bay and other bays around the world.

“In addition, in the second half of the year, the idea is to create an interactive space where visitors can understand a little about the history of occupation of this region: how we got to the current situation of environmental degradation and what paths we could take to reverse this situation and have a quality bay being used by the population of Rio and Brazil”, adds Leonardo Menezes, Content Manager at the Museum of Tomorrow.

The 8th World Water Forum is organized in Brazil by the World Water Council (WWC), the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), represented by the National Water Agency (ANA), and the Government of the Federal District, represented by the Regulatory Agency for Water, Energy and Basic Sanitation of the Federal District (ADASA). The Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (ABDIB) is a member of the National Organizing Committee (CON).

The seven previous editions were held in Marrakesh (Morocco, 1997), The Hague (Netherlands, 2000), Kyoto (Japan, 2003), Mexico City (Mexico, 2006), Istanbul (Turkey, 2009), Marseille (France, 2012) and Gyeongju and Daegu (South Korea, 2015).

Credits

Curadoria: Leonardo Menezes e Luiz Alberto Oliveira

Roteiro da experiência VR: Leonardo Menezes

Textos: Eduardo Carvalho, Emanuel Alencar e Sabrina Macedo

Pesquisa: Davi Bonela

Design: Juliana Montenegro

Produção tecnológica: SuperUber

Cenografia: P&G

Produção: Izabelle Araújo e Leonardo Fróes

Gerente de Educação: Laura Taves

Gerente de Novos Negócios e Projetos: Julianna Guimarães

Coordenadora de atendimento: Rosimar Silva

Estagiária: Thais Gesteira